


Teen Wolf

by jaykw2614



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Clexa Halloween Week, Clexa Halloween Week 2017, Clexa Teen Wolf AU, Day 2, F/F, Hunters, Teen Romance, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaykw2614/pseuds/jaykw2614
Summary: Lexa, a somewhat shy and socially awkward teen, just wants to make a change in her life and not live in her older sister's shadow. One night, she gets more than she wished for when she is bitten by a werewolf in the middle of the woods. With the help of her best friend Raven, she tries to navigate high-school life with these new abilities, a brand new pack and a crush on a transfer student. But with this secret comes enemies and the need to protect everyone she cares about.A Multi-Chapter Clexa Teen Wolf AU that I decided to post today in honor of Clexa Halloween Week 2017's Day 2 Category.Enjoy!





	1. Last Night of Summer

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished re-watching Teen Wolf from the first episode since they just aired it's series finale. All I could think about was Clarke and Lexa so I decided to write this fic based off the first season and the relationship between Scott and Allison. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Find me on tumblr - jaycal14.tumblr.com

Summer was officially over. That was the harsh reality being faced by every resident of the small town of Arkadia, California. As every teenager was putting together a carefully planned outfit to start the New Year in style, Lexa was doing that and so much more.

After triple checking that her back pack was packed with brand new pens, pencils, highlighters and notebooks, it was placed on the chair in the corner of her bedroom right beside her Arkadia High School Lacrosse team gym bag. Only the Varsity players get their very own bag with their Jersey number and Last name sew on the sides. Lexa was lucky enough to have an older sister who was the star of the Varsity for three years before she graduated and gave the bag to Lexa to carry on her ‘legacy’.

All joking aside, it was Lexa’s every intention to do just that. Her entire freshman year, she sat on the sidelines of the JV team. She was good, just not good enough according to her coach. This year was going to be different. Thanks to a rule broken during her sister Luna’s sophomore year, she was now eligible to play at the varsity level. The entire summer, Lexa dedicated her free time to bettering herself on the field. She went for jogs through the woods, practiced her scoring, worked on her agility and definitely improved her ball handling skills. But even with all that preparation and training, Lexa couldn’t help but feel nervous as hell. While her sister seemed to thrive in the limelight, with her natural grace and her effortless charm, Lexa wasn’t as dignified. Situations that led to her being the center of attention are when she fumbled the most. Starting tomorrow, all that would change. 

Lexa was finishing up brushing her teeth for the night when her mother appeared in her open doorway and knocked to get her attention. “Hey kiddo.” Becca Woods spoke as she leaned against the entrance to her youngest daughter’s room, hands shoved into the front pockets of her nursing scrubs.

“Hey.” Lexa called back from her bathroom.

“You all set for tomorrow?”

“Name one kid who’s ever ready for summer to end and school to start.”

“Alright smart-ass.” The mother chuckled. “What about practice? You ready?” Becca knew very well how Lexa worked hard all summer to have a better school year than the last. She hoped more than anything that it all payed off. While she appreciated the fact that the younger of her two daughters was shy and mild mannered, she wanted to make sure that her high school experience was something she would look back on one day and be fond of.

It was only a few years ago that Lexa came out. In the six months prior, it was evident to Becca that something was troubling the pre-teen. Normally, the two were closer than mother-daughter relationships could get, but suddenly, Lexa began to withdraw and become distant. What really scared the older woman, was when she went into Lexa’s room to get an opinion on dinner and found curled up in her bed, staring off into space, crying. Becca could count on one hand the number of times either of her kids cried, and that included any instance of them enduring a major injury. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

That night, Becca called her husband, telling him to blow off whatever work assignment required him to work late and come home so they could both be there for their daughter. Being the doting parents that they both were, Geoffrey Woods told his boss that there was a family emergency that needed his immediate attention and raced home. Together, they called Lexa downstairs, sat her down and begged her to tell them what was wrong with her saying that they couldn’t fix it if she wouldn’t talk to them.

After an hour of relative silence, save for the muffled tears Lexa cried into the couch pillow and the coaxing pleas of her parents, she finally told them what it was she was struggling with. At first, they were both shocked, naturally. Before Becca could get a word out, though, her husband had erupted into a fit of rage so fierce it made the whole house quake. The things he said to her could only be described as cruel and chauvinistic. Becca was too stunned by the revelation and Geoff’s out of character outburst to say anything, and that was the biggest regret of her life. With his last huff, he ordered Lexa to go upstairs, pack her things and to get out from under his roof for she was no longer a daughter of his. Looking to her mother for any type of support, Lexa nodded her tear-streaked head and went to her room to start packing.

Sitting on her bed with her duffle bag half filled with her clothes, Lexa cried harder than she ever had before. She was on the verge of hyperventilating when she heard the shouting start up again. At first, she figured her dad was venting the last of his frustration. Like a true masochist, Lexa calmed herself enough to try and hear what hate he was now spewing, but was surprised when she heard that of her mother’s voice.

She couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, but it had to be bad. Becca rarely ever yelled. Hell, Lexa thought her voice just wasn’t capable of going any louder than its normal pitch. There was the sound of glass shattering followed by the undeniable slam of the front door. Soon after, footsteps were heard ascending the staircase and Lexa had never been so scared. But then Becca opened the door and rushed to her daughter, cradling her face in her hands, tears falling from both their eyes. “You are not going anywhere.” She began softly, never breaking eye contact. “You are my daughter and I love you no matter what, okay?”

“But dad -- ”

“But nothing. If your father can’t accept you, then to hell with him.” That was the night that Becca kicked Geoff out of the house. The next day she filed for divorce and sole custody of both their children and she never looked back.

Now, as she watched her baby girl prepare for her first day of sophomore year, she couldn’t help but feel a touch bit nervous herself. All she wanted was for her girls to be happy and healthy. 

“I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Lexa said nervously. “I just hope I don’t choke.”

“Hey,” Becca began, walking further into the room and placing a hand on each of the teenager’s shoulders, “You have been working your ass off all summer. You’ve got this.”

Lexa smiled. “Thanks mom.”

“Alright, I’m headed off to work. You should get some sleep. I don’t get off until after you leave so I won’t see you in the morning. Have a good first day of school.” She kissed her daughter on the head and turned to leave. “Love you, baby.”

“You too.” Lexa called back.

After her mother left for the night and Lexa re-checked that everything was ready for tomorrow, she threw herself onto her bed and picked up her book from the bedside table, continuing where she left off.

Just as her eyes skimmed over the last sentence of the chapter, the silence that encompassed the house was interrupted by a muffled thud that sounded like it came from the master bedroom.

“Mom?” She called out, getting up from her bed and making her way out into the hall. “Did you forget something?” The only response came in the form of another noise, this time by her bedroom window. Slowly turning back into her room, she grabs a baseball bat that’s propped up by her door. Just as a shadow danced across the room, Lexa raised the bat ready to strike whoever was breaking into her home. Suddenly, the window opens and the intruder steps through, rolling onto Lexa’s bed. The brunette prepares to defend herself, but stops when invader looks up and screams, causing her to do the same.

“Raven… What the fuck?” Lexa says to her best friend as she tries to will her heartrate to calm back down.

“You’re the one walking around wielding a bat like some kind of psycho.” The Latina accuses. 

Lexa set the bat back down and threw her hands up in exasperation. It was just like Raven to commit a felony and make her feel like the guilty party. “I thought you were a burglar or something. Why are you sneaking in through the window anyway?”

“I saw your mom’s car in the driveway. I didn’t think she’d let me in this late on a school night. Then I saw her leave for work, but I was already on the roof so…”

“What are you doing here so late?”

“I was listening in on one of Sinclair’s phone calls. You remember the campers that went missing last week?” Lexa nodded. In a small town like Arkadia, any news was big news. “Well the girl was found on the side of the highway leaving town. She was covered in blood. When she came to, she went crazy saying something attacked them and that her boyfriend is dead.”

Lexa looked at her confused. “So?”

“So… they’re calling in every available officer and the search dogs to look for the body. We’re totally going.”

“Count me out. I want to get a good night sleep before school. Plus tomorrow is the first official day of practice.”

“Oh come on Lex. You always say nothing exciting ever happens in this town. Finding a dead body in the middle of the woods is pretty exciting.”

Eventually, as she always does, Raven manages to wear Lexa down and convinces her to join her on this crazy adventure. A lot of the stories they share start out that way. Sometimes, it’s worth the risk of being caught sneaking out or venturing into restricted areas. Other times, much like tonight, the risk would greatly outweigh the thrill.  
\--  
Raven parked her ’91 Ford Bronco at the South side entrance of Glowing Forrest Park Reserve, knowing full well that the police were coordinating their search from the North Side entrance. Hopping out of the truck, she grabbed a flashlight and led the way onto the dirt path with Lexa trailing behind her.

“So you ready for practice tomorrow?”

Lexa really wished people would stop asking her that. Granted this was only the third time, but still, every time it was brought up she only got more nervous. “Kind of, I guess.”

“You’ve been training all summer, don’t freak out too much.”

“Easier said than done.” Lexa said trying to keep up with the rambunctious girl ahead of her. “And it was cool that Luna helped train me while she was back.”

“It must be nice having a legendary, lacrosse star for an older sister.”

“Oh yeah,” She said sarcastically. “I had a blast growing up in her shadow. There were times I thought about changing my name from Alexandra to ‘Luna’s kid sister’.”

Raven turned back to her with that asshole smirk she was so good at. “It would save you a lot of time.”

Both grew silent as they climbed up a steep hill, having abandoned the trail entirely as Raven wanted to catch up with the cops to get close enough to see something good. They were about halfway up when a thought occurred to Lexa.

“You said that the girl they found was covered in blood and told the police that her boyfriend was dead, right?”

“Yeah.” Raven panted out trying to catch her breath after making it to the top. Lexa joined her seconds later.

“So what if whoever or whatever attacked them is still out here?”

“Huh… I didn’t even think of that.” Raven said with a shrug and continued on.

Lexa stared after her, dumbfounded. “You do realize that this is the kind of thing that happens in horror movies right?”

“Relax.” Raven waved her off. “I’m the lovable female lead and you’re the gay best friend. If we are living the plot to some horror flick, we’ll be fine.”

“What the hell are you even talking about? Gays always bite the bullet. They’re like the first ones to get killed off.”  
“And if that happens, I’ll mourn the hell out of you.”

“What?! Raven-”

“Shh!!” Raven suddenly turned off her flashlight and grabbed Lexa, ducking them both down behind the trunk of a fallen tree. As they peaked their heads up over the top, they saw a row of flashlights not too far in the distance and getting closer. They could make out the silhouettes of the officers and could hear the panting of the search dogs as they explored every inch of the forest floor, hoping to find a clue that led to the discovery of the body they were looking for.

In a rush of over-eagerness, Raven quickly army crawled the length of the trunk and took cover behind an upright tree a few feet away. Peeking around the side of her newest hiding place, she made sure she was in the clear before advancing to the next tree.

“Raven!...” Lexa yelled after her in a hushed whisper in an attempt to get her attention while trying to remain hidden from the officers advancing closer to their position. “Rae!” It was no use. Raven was well out of earshot, and even if she wasn’t, it still wouldn’t have mattered. When Raven Reyes got an idea in her head, she ran with it at full steam and very little could thwart her.

All Lexa could do was watch and hesitantly follow at a far distance, ever the fearful sidekick, weary of being caught doing anything wrong. In the midst of Lexa calling her name, and trying to get in on the hunt for a corpse, Raven got confused jumping from one hiding place to another. Before she could find her footing, an academy trained German Shepherd began barking with sheer ferocity causing Raven to tumble to the forest floor in absolute terror.

“FREEZE!” A deputy shouted loud enough for all to hear over the dogs incessant growling. “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! HANDS UP NOW!!” In all the madness, Lexa took cover behind the thickest tree she could find and stood as still as humanly possible.

“Hang on! Hang on!” A stern voice sounded, pushing his way through the officers who had gathered around the trespasser. “This delinquent happens to belong to me.”

“Hey Sinclair.” Raven greeted her father, the Sherriff of the small town in which they resided. “Nice night, right?”

“Let me take one guess… police scanner?” Sinclair asked, knowing his mischievous teenaged daughter all too well.

“No.” Raven replied in an almost offended tone. “I overheard you on the phone.”

“Is this something you do often?”

“Define often.” Raven challenged, reverting to her usual witty demeanor. It was a defense mechanism.

Sinclair looked around the dark, tree-riddled park reserved, expecting to see his daughters best friend somewhere close by. “And where is your usual partner in crime?”

“If you’re referring to Lexa, she is at home. She wanted to get a good night’s sleep before school tomorrow, or something lame like that.” Raven waved off, hoping he believed her.

Sinclair, however, wasn’t convinced. “Sure she is.” Turning his flashlight to the immediate area behind the young girl, he scanned the nearby expanse, looking for any sign of a second trespasser. “Lexa Woods! Show yourself!” He shouted, waiting for the other brunette to pop out of whatever corner she was hiding in. After a few moments of absolute silence and no movement, Raven’s lie was confirmed, and he turned his attention back to his daughter.

“See?” She told him with a wave of conceitedness at how in sync she and her best friend proved to be in the midst of a spur the moment ruse. “I told you she’s at home.”

“Alright, fine.” Sinclair said lowering his flashlight and stepping toward his daughter. “But you are coming with me.” He grabbed the back of her hoodie and ushered her back in the direction all the officers came from. “I’m going to drive you to your car and have a uniform follow you home to make sure you stay there.”

Their voices slowly faded into the distance as well as the beams from their flashlights and the sounds of their footsteps. Lexa cautiously peered around the tree she was hiding behind, making sure none of the officers stayed back, cursing the heavens that she was now completely alone in the middle of the state’s largest forest, forced to find her way back all on her own.

Lexa looked to the sky, finding the near-full moon and tried to call on the lessons from her time at summer camp to remember how to navigate her way home via moonlight. Her efforts were futile. Summer camp was so long ago and she had been more focused on mastering her fencing class and her candle making tutorial. So, for lack of a better plan, Lexa started her trek back in the direction she assumed she and Raven had come from.

Ten minutes later, she found herself still completely surrounded by trees, dirt and darkness, having not seemed to have made a dent in making it home. After walking for what felt like miles, she could barely see two feet in front of her, let alone determine if there was a road anywhere near her. Pulling out her phone from her back pocket, she tried to call Raven, hoping she could help in some way and be her saving grace, but when she looked at the screen, she was met with the ‘No Signal’ notification.

“Fan-fucking-tastic!” She yelled out loud to herself.

With no other options, Lexa continued her aimless trek, praying she would somehow wander into town and get her bearings. As she got lost in her thoughts, feet carrying her directionless self, Lexa suddenly tripped and fell to the forest floor with a loud thud. Falling in itself would have been fine, expected even, given how dark it was, but what she didn’t expect was to get covered in what she assumed was mud.

Pulling her phone out once again, she tapped on the home button, lighting up the screen and gasped when she saw that part of it was covered in blood. Lexa’s heart started beating out of her chest. Turning her phone into flashlight mode, she shined the light onto her hands to find that they two had blood covering them from where she braced herself on the fall. She followed the trail down the length of her clothes until she reached her feet. There, beneath her rundown converse sneakers lay the missing hiker, throat slashed, much like the rest of his body. Blood covered every inch of him.

Lexa let out the loudest scream she ever had in her life. Struggling to stand up, she shuffled away from the body as fast as she could before turning away and sprinting straight ahead at full force. With her mind so focused on trying to rid itself of that most frightening image, Lexa didn’t notice the descent in front of her and was suddenly sent tumbling down a ten-foot hill, landing at the bottom of a ravine in a large puddle of water.

Now lost, tired, freaked out and completely soaked, Lexa thought at the very least things can’t get worse from here. She picked herself up and wiped the murky water from her face and checked her phone to make sure it wasn’t broken from the fall or damaged from the water. Thankfully it seemed fine. 

A branch snapping in the distance caught her attention. She looked up and saw something moving within the shadows. She squinted, straining her eyes to see through the pitch black and was able to make out the shape of some kind of animal. What it was, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that it was too small to be a bear. That’s when it turned its head to look right at her and Lexa saw two glowing, bright red eyes staring her down. It let out a low growl before lunging her way and running towards her. 

For the second time that night, Lexa found herself sprinting for her life, wracked with near-crippling fear. She barely made it five yards before the animal caught up with her, swiping at her legs and tackling her to the ground. She tried to wrestle free from its grasp, letting out a blood curdling scream when it bared its teeth and bit down on her side, puncturing the flesh that sat above her ribcage. 

On reflex, she swung her leg, kicking the creature she was now sure was a wolf and getting the drop on it. With nothing else to do, she got back up and started running once again. She was too afraid to look back but it didn’t seem as though it was coming after her. 

By some miracle, she found herself running out past a line of trees and meeting the highway. Before she could stop herself, she was out in the middle of the road and was startled by a car horn growing closer. Headlights shined in her face and swerved around her at the last second, not bothering to stop as the SUV continued down the road.

Lexa took a second to breathe at the near-miss, the animal attack and the dead body she encountered all in the span of the last two hours. As the adrenaline slowly dissipated from her system, the stinging ache in her side made its presence known. She lifted the hem of her jacket and shirt and took a look at the bite mark that was now dripping with fresh blood. A loud howling sounded from the distance and echoed off the trees. That was all Lexa needed to hear to get her to continue her walk home, now with a much better sense of direction. 

Tomorrow she could yell at Raven for getting her into what was, hands down, the worst situation she had ever talked her into. Right now, she just wanted to go home, shower wrap up her wound and go to bed.


	2. New Year, New Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa & Raven's first day back at school; Arkadia High gets a new student

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long. I wanted to get the final chapter of my first fic out before I fully committed to this one, then as luck would have it I got incredibly sick and was out of commission for a few weeks. But all is well now and I'm going to focus on this as much as possible. I've been really excited to write this fic so I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions you can find me at jaycal14.tumblr.com

**The Next day at school**  
   
“Alright. Let’s see it.” Raven said gesturing for Lexa to lift up the side of her shirt and show her the bitemark she received the night before. Lexa takes a look around at all the students passing by. No one is paying them any mind, as usual, so she lifts up the side of her shirt slightly to show her the bloodstained gauze pad covering the wound. As Raven reached out towards it, Lexa quickly slaps her hand away.  
   
“Don’t touch it!” Lexa snapped pulling her shirt back down.  
   
“Oh my god, you’re totally full of shit. So, what is this then, payback for ditching you last night? I already apologized but I get it if you’re still mad. The fake blood’s a nice touch, though. Really had me going.”  
   
Lexa let out a sigh of annoyance and started walking the long path in front of campus that led right into the quad with her best friend in tow. “I’m screwing with you Rae, I swear. Something bit me last night.”  
   
“Oh yeah, then what did it look like?” She said, her amused tone still conveying that she was anything but convinced.  
   
Lexa thought back to the night before, recalling it in her mind like a bad dream. “It was big and walked on all fours. It was too dark to get a good look but the way it growled sounded kinda like a wolf or something.”  
   
Raven let out the loudest laugh that had her best friend’s brow furrowing. “Now I know you’re full of shit. There haven’t been wolves in California in decades.”  
   
All Lexa could do was shake her head and roll her eyes. “So, if you think I’m lying about the wolf then you’re not going to believe me when I tell you that I tripped over the corpse of that dead hiker.”  
   
With her eyes wider than they had ever been before, Raven threw her arm out stopping both of them in their tracks and turned to face Lexa. “No way! How? When? Where? What did it look like?” She rushed out excitedly.  
   
“Like it was ripped apart by wild animals.” Lexa couldn’t help the way her face contorted in repulsion thinking about the body. If she hadn’t been completely overcome by both shock and fear, she might have vomited.  
   
“Holy shit!” Raven yelped neither caring nor noticing the weird glances she got from students passing nearby. “That is so cool!”  
   
“Trust me, it was anything but cool. It’s going to haunt me for the next six months at least.”  
   
“Can you not see the beauty in anything?” The two continued their slow trek through campus to get to homeroom. “There is either a savage killer on the loose or some wild animal mauling people in the woods.”  
   
“What is beautiful about either of those scenarios?”

 

Raven actually took a moment before responding. She had a habit of saying things before thinking them through. “…nothing.” She lamented as they arrived outside Mr. Vie’s classroom. “But Arkadia is seriously the most boring town ever. At least now we’ll be known for something.” She rallied.  
   
“Violent deaths?” Lexa asked skeptically.  
   
“Shut up!” With the final word, Raven lightly shoved Lexa across the threshold into the classroom. They both chuckled and shared a smile with Mr. Vie as they made their way to their seats in back, saying hi to the few students they actually spoke to along the way. 

* * *

**Homeroom**

The minute the bell rang and the last of the students quickly shuffled into the door, Mr. Vie stood before the class in his classic vest and tie combo, leaning his back against the desk and arms crossed in front of his chest, surveying the group. Everyone liked Mr. Vie’s teaching style, especially Lexa. He was handsdown her favorite English-Lit teacher and she was thrilled when she found out she was assigned to his class for the second year.  
   
“Good morning class.” He spoke excitedly. There was no need for introductions; he’d had every one of them during their freshman year. “Let’s just cut right to the chase, I’m sure you’ve all heard the news about the missing hikers and that one of them was found alive and well, though the second is believed to be deceased. Let me assure you that the police have everything under control and there is nothing to worry about. Now, with that out of the way, if you would all direct your attention to the syllabus outlining this semester. Please read through it quietly.”  
   
As Lexa and the class followed instructions and began reading the syllabus, a silence quickly fell over the room. She barely read through the first line before she heard the loud hum of her phone buzzing away in her pocket; which was weird since she didn’t feel it vibrating. Lexa hurriedly pulled it out of her pocket to turn it off before anyone else could hear it, but was met with a blank screen. Her face scrunched in confusion and her head snapped back up as she heard another ring. Looking around, she scanned the classroom trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Eyes passing over everyone in the room, she noticed that not a single person seemed to hear what she was hearing.   
   
Growing more confused during each passing second, with every loud buzz that sounded, Lexa rubbed her ears thinking it must all be in her head. That’s when the buzzing was abruptly cut off and was matched by a single tone before one of the most angelic voices Lexa’s ever heard began to speak.   
   
“Mom, for the last time I’m fine. It’s just the first day of school, it happens every year.” Came the voice with a playfully sassy tone. It sounded far away but Lexa could hear it loud and clear. With no explanation as to what the hell was going on, Lexa glanced out the windows of the classroom, letting her eyes scan through the scenery. She did a double-take when she caught the sight of a blonde girl sitting on one of the benches in front of the admin office. She must have been over 100 feet away with a whole wall between them, yet Lexa could hear everything.  
   
_‘It’s your first day at a new school. I was just calling to make sure you have everything you need.’_ She heard the voice on the other end of the phone.  
   
“I have everything….” The girl responded somewhat distractedly as she rifled through her shoulder bag, clearly looking for something. “Except a pen. How did I forget a pen?”  
   
_‘Do you need me to bring you one?’_  
   
“Don’t be ridiculous, I can just borrow one from somebody.”  
   
_‘On the bright side, it’s a great way to make a new friend.’_ The mom said hopefully.  
   
“Good thinking mom.” The girl laughed into the phone. Both she and Lexa noticed Principal Jaha heading her way. “Hey, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”  
   
_‘Okay. Have a nice day, sweetie!’_ The blonde hung up and the phone, threw it back in her bag and stood up to meet the principal as he approached her.  
   
“Ms. Griffin, sorry to keep you waiting.” Mr. Jaha apologized.  
   
The blonde waved him off with a smile. “No worries.”  
   
“Right this way.” Jaha said, motioning with his arm for her to follow him inside. “So, you said you just moved here from…”  
   
“…Ton DC. We were there for just over a year, but my mom and stepdad wanted to move somewhere quieter.”  
   
“Well, here’s hoping this is your last stop for a while.”  
   
As their trivial conversation died there, Lexa heard their footsteps growing louder, echoing off the cheap tiles as they walk down the hall closer and closer. Right on time with their footfalls, Jaha opened the door to their classroom and walked in with the blonde standing shyly right behind him.  
   
All eyes looked up to see who had come in. “Class, this is our new transfer student Clarke Griffin. I trust you will all do your best to make her feel welcome.” He said to mass of heads staring up at him, then he turned back to the blonde. “There’s a seat right back there for you.” Jaha pointed to the back of the class where there sat the only remaining unoccupied seat in the very last row, second desk in from the windows, immediately to Raven’s right and directly behind Lexa.  
   
Clarke kept her head down and shuffled down the aisle until she reached her seat. As she passed by, Lexa was hit with a whiff of her perfume. She smelled of a rich lavender. Allowing her impulse to take control for the moment, Lexa grabbed one of the spare pens she kept on her desk and turned around to hand it to the blonde.  
   
Clarke’s eyes snapped up and met Lexa’s, each taking note of how beautiful they believed the others to be. Clarke reveling in Lexa’s bright greens and Lexa’s doing the same in the clear blue of Clarke’s. She looked down to the brunette’s offering and breathed a surprised sigh of relief. “Thanks.” She let out as she lightly grabbed the pen from her. Their fingers made contact for a fraction of a second causing each of their breaths to hitch. Lexa quickly turned back before the ditzy smile she felt coming on presented itself and embarrassed her in front of the school’s newest addition.  
   
Mr. Vie came by and set an extra syllabus down on Clarke’s desk, welcoming her to Arkadia High School and instructing her to read through the form with the rest of the class. The silence was restored, and  
Lexa tried to continue reading but it was proving most difficult as all she could think about was the girl occupying the seat behind her.   
   
It wasn’t long after that the class was disrupted for the second time, by yet another visitor. Sinclair stepped through the door and gave a polite smile to Mr. Vie. The second they looked up and saw who had come in, Lexa and Raven looked at each other, having one of their silent conversations from a few feet away, not knowing that Clarke was watching the two of them in confusion.  
   
“Is there something I can help you with Sheriff?” They heard Mr. Vie speak up. Sinclair simply held a hand up in lieu of responding and proceeded to walk down the aisle between the desks just as Clarke had moments ago. For lack of any other options, Lexa and Raven pretended not to notice his presence, looking everywhere else except in his direction. As he got closer, Lexa resorted to blatantly hiding her face behind her hand wishing she was anywhere else at the moment. Sinclair stopped right before Lexa’s desk, eyes glancing between the two guilty looking teens. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the scene in the back of the class, only making it worse.  
   
“You….” Sinclair said calmly pointing to Raven, “and you.” He pointed to Lexa. “With me. Now.” Without another word, he turned and walked back out of the class, knowing they had no choice but to follow. Lexa and Raven quietly rose from their seats, looking to one another trying to figure a way out of their current predicament.  

* * *

 

**Outside Homeroom**  
   
“So last night, you lied to me.” Sinclair began once the door closed behind them, preventing anyone from overhearing their conversation. “Lexa was out there in the woods with you.”  
   
“How’d you know that?” Raven asked genuinely confused.  
   
The Sherriff looked to Lexa accusingly. “Because _somebody_ placed an anonymous call about where to locate the body of the missing hiker, using their cell phone.”  
   
Raven turned to her best friend with an incredulous look. “You used your cell phone?” She didn’t even care that she had practically admitted to her violation.  
   
“It’s not like there was a payphone booth in the middle of the forest!” Lexa argued back.  
   
“Girls!” Sinclair shouted between them, effectively getting their attention back. “The point is you had no business being out there in the first place.”  
   
“Well…” Lexa offered up skeptically, “on the plus side… I did help find the body.”  
   
“Exactly.” Raven chimed in. “If anything, she deserves some type of reward. And if you wanna throw a little something my way, I wouldn’t hate it. I mean, I did drive her there.”  
   
“And then left me stranded!”  
   
“Hey! I apologized for that like a hundred times!”

 “Who cares! I had to walk over six miles soaking wet!”  
   
“Okay… but did you die?” Raven asked not bothering to even look at Lexa. As if it somehow emphasized her point. It had become her go-to phrase to justify whatever manner of trouble Raven managed to talk her into.  
   
“Girls!” Sinclair exclaimed again. He was used to this by now. Over the years he had witnessed the two of them switch from plotting together to going at each other’s throats and back again within the span of thirty seconds. “Enough. Just get back to class, we’ll talk about your punishment when you get home.” He informed Raven. “And Lexa, I took the liberty of calling your mother.”  
 Lexa felt her shoulders slump and she threw her head back. “Couldn’t you just arrest me?” Sinclair let out a light chuckle at the brunette’s response as he turned around and made his way back down the hall towards the school’s exit.  
   
As Lexa and Raven stalk back into class, they ignore the looks they get from their nosy classmates, knowing that once the bell rang they’d each get bombarded with questions about their latest dust-up with the law. Just as they retook their seats Monty, their well-mannered friend since grade school turned around in his seat in front of Raven and whispered to them.  
   
“What’d you guys now?” He asked amusedly.  
   
Lexa sat leaned back in her chair, avoiding Raven’s harsh glare. “I befriended a delinquent back in the first grade. That’s what I did.” She whispered harshly, loud enough for the Latina to hear her and get the hint.  
   
“Oh yeah?” Raven leaned forward, matching her friends tone. “Well, I befriended an idiot who’s dumb enough to use her cell phone at a crime scene.”  
   
Hearing that accusation for the third time in less than ten minutes, Lexa turned around to address her directly. “For the last time… I had no choice.”  
   
“Raven, Lexa…” Mr. Vie spoke up from the front of the class causing both girls to snap their heads up at him. “Something you’d like to share with the class?”  
   
“No sir!” They utter in unison and look back down at their syllabus. Neither of them had noticed that their entire exchange had been overheard by a now smiling Clarke as she sat quietly behind them.

* * *

 

**School Hallway – Between Classes**  
   
Lexa felt her nerves rising from the pit in her stomach. Just one last class and school would be done for the day, meaning Lacrosse practice would start. She was fine earlier, but the closer the time came, the more Lexa was having doubts about her performance.  
   
With Raven leaned up against the lockers next to hers, Lexa turned the combination lock and opened up her locker to exchange out her books. Suddenly, her nose was hit with another whiff of that rich lavender perfume scent. She looked down the hall, through the traffic of other students and found its source. Clarke had just approached her own locker, opening it up to switch out her notebooks before her next class started. Lexa knew it was considered creepy, but she couldn’t help but stare at the blonde, thinking she looked absolutely gorgeous.  
   
As if she felt herself being watched, Clarke turned slightly and looked down the hall, meeting Lexa’s gaze. Lexa knew she should have turned away, pretended not to have gotten caught even though it was obvious she had, but she couldn’t. Something about the girl made it impossible to look anywhere else. Just as she was starting to think that Clarke might be getting creeped out at the whole situation, the blonde sent her the sweetest and most genuine smile from across the way. Lexa was more than willing to return the gesture.  
   
Just as the bashful smiling was starting to get awkward, Clarke was startled when someone approached her from behind and broke their gaze. Looking to her right, she was met with the cheeky grin of Octavia Blake, a classmate she briefly met during her third and fourth periods.  
   
“I’ve been meaning to tell you all day that I love your boots.” Octavia complimented as she leaned up against the nearby lockers similar to the way Raven was still leaned up by Lexa’s locker.   
   
Lexa had since looked away but decided to try to utilize her strange new hearing to her advantage. She focused her ears, bypassing all the random chatter and even ignored Raven who was now talking to their friend Maya, who had walked up at some point and asked about Clarke and the two of them getting pulled out of class by the Sherriff.  
   
Clarke glanced down to the boots in question. “Oh thanks. One of my mom’s patient’s from back in Ton DC owned a boutique and she gave us a pretty generous discount.”  
   
“Nice.” Octavia replied. “So how is the rest of your first day going?”  
   
“Uhmm…” Clarke subtly glanced back down at Lexa for a second as she dragged out her answer. “Pretty good. It’s still kind of weird being to new kid. You’d think I’d be used to it by now with all the moving around, but each time is different from the last.”  
   
“Well you don’t have to worry about that here. You lucked out in the new friend department.” Octavia bragged causing both girls to smile.   
   
“Thank goodness for you Octavia.” Clarke closed her locker back up and took another quick, subtle glance towards Lexa. When she turned her head back, she noticed that they were no longer alone. Three people she had seen around campus had approached them from behind Octavia.  
   
“Hey O,” The taller, shaggy-haired boy called out with his arm slung loosely around the girl he was walking with, another somewhat shorter guy on the other side. “Making new friends I see.”  
   
“Always.” She replied. “Clarke, this is Miller, Gina and my big brother Bellamy. Guys, this is Clarke, she’s new here.”  
   
“Hey.” Clarke waved shyly, growing nervous under the harsh scrutiny of Gina’s glare, looking her up and down. The guys had given their friendly ‘hellos’ and ‘welcomes’ and an awkward silence fell over the group waiting for the dark-haired girl to speak. “Nice boots.” Gina finally spoke, breaking the tension with her calloused tone yet donning a small hint of a smile.  
   
“I know, right?” Octavia jumped in happily, everyone seemingly taking Gina’s compliment as her acceptance. “I told her she had amazing boots.”  
   
“So, Clarke,” Came Bellamy, “You gonna come watch the first practice?”  
   
“For what, like football or something?”  
   
Bellamy let out a light chuckle. “God, no. Football doesn’t mean anything in this town. The big sport here is Lacrosse.”  
   
“Yeah,” Miller spoke up. “We have our first practice of the year today.”  
   
“You should come and watch with me and Gina.” Octavia finished off.  
   
Clarke looked back and forth at all four faces staring back at her expectantly, contemplating whether she wanted to join them. This was a great opportunity to make new friends which she definitely would appreciate given that it’s her first day in a new small town. She knew her mother would be excited to learn of her being a part of a group. The only thing holding her back was that she knew next to nothing about the sport of lacrosse and she didn’t want to be that annoying person constantly asking questions. After several painfully silent seconds, Clarke decided learning about the towns beloved sport.  
   
“Yeah, okay. Sounds fun.” She was met with approving looks at her answer before they all turned to leave, calling for her to come along with them. Clarke readjusted the bag strap on her shoulder and took one last glance down the hall to meet the green eyes of the brunette from her first class before following her new friends in the opposite direction.  
   
Lexa stared after the blonde and her new friends as they walked further down the hallway and rounded the corner. “Geez. Stare much?” Raven’s voice broke her out of her daze. She quickly looked back at her friend, feeling caught.  
   
“What?” Lexa answered, trying hard not to sound panicked.  
   
“Two sets of evil eyes… three o’clock.” Raven motioned with her head for Lexa to look behind her. Following her best friend’s eyes, Lexa turned her head slightly down the other end of the hallway to find two people watching her and not bothering to be subtle about it.  
   
She recognized them from around school, but never actually spoke to them before. The shorter of the two was an intense looking, dirty blonde named Echo; whether that was her actual name or a nickname nobody knew. The tan skinned guy standing next to her was Lincoln Whittle. Lexa had no clue why they were staring at her the way they were, but it seemed as if they knew something about her.  
   
“What’d you do to piss them off?” Came Raven’s voice again.  
   
“No clue.” Lexa responded closing her locker and throwing her bag over her shoulder. “I gotta get to class.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like that. I'm already working on the next chapter and outlining the remainder of the fic. Thanks for reading!


	3. Practice makes Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big moment has finally arrived; Lexa and Clarke have their first conversation; Lexa gets a surprise visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long. Trust me when I say I am spending every free second I have on this story. It's just the planning it out part is VERY slow going and its frustrating. So if there is anything you guys want to see happen in this story, I am open to suggestions and advice. You can also find me on tumblr at jaycal14.tumblr.com.

**After School – Lacrosse Field**  
   
The time has come. All summer Lexa has trained for this day and it is finally here. Nervous didn’t even begin to describe what she was feeling, but it was one of the heavier emotions she could actually recognize.   
   
Lexa was wrapped up in her own head trying to push the nerves deep down into the furthest crevice of her mind as she made her way out to the lacrosse field, dressed up and ready for practice with Raven alongside her. She sets her bag down on the bench and pulls out her helmet. Glancing up, Lexa sees Clarke sitting in the bleachers behind the bench alongside Octavia and Gina. Just like they did in the hallway less than two hours ago, the two caught each other’s gaze and shared a small smile with one another.   
   
Through that small gesture, Lexa had forgotten all about her nerves and fear. It was as though it all just washed away and was replaced by an unexpected warmth flowing through her chest. As badly as she wanted to keep looking at the blonde with the eyes she could easily get lost in, Lexa continued to get ready for practice. Reaching down into her bag, she pulled out her athletic taped to wrap her wrists and hands with. It was an old trick her sister taught her to do before putting her gloves on. Though she preoccupied herself with that task, it didn’t stop her from tuning her ears in to the conversation that took place a few rows up.  
   
“Hey, do either of you guys know who that is?” Lexa heard Clarke’s angelic voice ask the two dark haired girls she was sitting with.  
   
“The chick in the jersey?” Gina asked with curiosity glancing down to where Clarke’s eyes were cast.  
   
“Yeah.”  
   
“I think her name’s Lisa or something like that.”  
   
“It’s Lexa.” Octavia correct, to which Gina just shrugged, genuinely not interested. “Why do you ask?”  
   
Clarke tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. “We have homeroom together. I sit behind her, and I was just curious.”  
   
Lexa smiled to herself knowing Clarke had been asking about her, but was snapped out of her eavesdropping when she felt Raven tap her once on the shoulder.  
   
“Hey so… good luck and everything. Y’know…Don’t choke.” Leave it to Raven Reyes to offer words of wisdom and encouragement just when she needed it the most.   Lexa let out a slight chuckle and gave her best friend a playful shove. “Shut up and go sit down.”  
   
“Do you two ever stop bickering?” Came a familiar voice from behind Lexa. She turned around to see her sister leaning against the far side of the bleachers railing, arms folded across her chest and sunglasses perched on top of her head.  
“Luna? What are you doing here?” Lexa queried as they both took lengthy strides towards one another, only stopping to embrace each other in a tight hug.  
   
“You didn’t honestly think I was going to miss the big day, did you?” As Luna had her arms wrapped around her little sister, something felt off, and Lexa was able to read it on her face as they pull apart.  
   
“What?” She asked her, worried something was wrong.  
   
Luna shook off the feeling, schooled her expression and shook her head. “Nothing. How have you been?”  
   
“Fine, when I’m not being stranded in the woods in the middle of the night.” At that, Lexa looked to Raven who matched her narrow-eyed glare.  
   
“What?” Luna looked back and forth between two of them, utterly confused about what they were talking about. Then again, she was always in the dark when it came to the ramblings of her sister and her best friend. It was like the two spoke their own language.  
   
“It’s a long story.” Said Raven.  
   
“Well why don’t you tell me all about it up in the bleachers.” Luna told her, motioning with her head for Raven to head on up and take a seat so she could have a moment alone with Lexa. Raven got the message and climbed up the metal steps, taking a seat a few rows down from where Clarke, Gina & Octavia were seated. Lexa’s eyes followed her friend and once again drifted to the blonde.  
   
“You ready?” Luna’s voice pulled her focus back to her.  
   
“I honestly have no idea.”  
   
“Hey,” Luna placed both hands on either of Lexa’s shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes with the intensity she was famous for. “All that training we did this summer is going to pay off. Just go out there and play, you’ll be fine.”  
   
“Thanks.”  
   
Luna smiled and winked at her little sister. “Go get ‘em kid.” She gave her a final pat on the shoulder, ushering her off to join the huddle that was now forming around the coach. Luna watched after her for a second before climbing the bleachers to join Raven in the stands. 

* * *

Lexa joins in the team’s huddle. Her mind flashes through all the training she had with her sister over the summer as if she were recalling all the info she studied the night before a big test. This was a test of sorts, a physical test, one that Lexa was more than prepared for.   
   
“Alright, listen up guys!” Coach Shumway yelled to quiet everyone down. “And Gals.” He added for both Lexa and Zoe Monroe, the only other female who had the stones to play this violent sport. “We’re gonna run a few drills to weed out the weaklings. If you can’t hack it, don’t expect to see any field time this season.”  
   
Coach Shumway had a reputation in the town for being a hard-ass, tough love type of guy, but deep down he had a good heart and looked after the kids on his team as if they were his own. Lexa remembered that from when Luna was on the team. When their parents split, it was coach who came by to check on his star player and her family, even telling her to skip the next few practices and games if she wasn’t in the right head space for it. Luna of course refused. Being on the field was the only way to forget about their a-hole of a father for a little while.  
   
“We’re going to start off with some two on one’s! Miller, you’re in goal! First two up on defense… Bellamy Blake and Dax Zinck. The rest of you line up for offense! Go on my whistle!”  
   
Everyone took their places like Shumway instructed, quickly, as he preached hustle. Lexa was third in line for offense. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, her hands felt clammy beneath her gloves, and her breathing was a bit ragged. Now was not the time for a panic attack, she thought to herself. As the first offender began his turn for the drill, Lexa closed her eyes, willing her body to cooperate long enough to get through the next hour.   
   
Her turn was rapidly approaching, and she barely got her breathing under control. But, it was now or never. Lexa stepped to the front of the line and scooped the ball up off the ground in front of her with her stick and waited. The whistle blew, and the piercing sound was so harsh she cringed, and her eyes began to water. Despite the pain she was feeling in her head, Lexa tightened her grip on her stick and made her move. She ran forward, towards both defenders preparing to roll dodge each of them, but before she could make that crucial step, she was knocked backwards by Bellamy & Dax.   
   
Lexa heard the laughs from the guys behind her, teasing about how she was weak and didn’t need girls on their team. It was enough to spark that irritation in her. Shumway stood over her, looking down at her with disappointment all over his face.  
   
“You good?” He asked sullenly offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet. She could still hear the barely suppressed snickers from the team.   
   
“I’m fine.” She huffed out.  
   
“Think you wanna give it another shot?”  
   
All Lexa could do was nod. As she walked back to the front of the line to try again, her breathing finally evened out, but her heart continued to pound though it was for a different reason. She was tired of being the younger sister of a ‘legend’, tired of being laughed at and more than anything, she was tired of riding the bench.   
   
“Let’s go Lex! You got this!” She heard Luna shout from the stands. It was enough to help her mind focus on the task and not on the whispers behind her. Closing her eyes, Lexa tried to concentrate. That’s when her sense of hearing picked up once again. She could hear Luna and Raven muttering under their breaths wishing her well, she heard Gina deliver the punchline to some joke she recited back to Octavia and Clarke, but the sound that caught her attention was the giggle that came from the blonde. It somehow calmed her enough to snap her back to the task.   
   
This time, when the whistle blew, Lexa barely heard it. She scooped up the ball once again and tightened her grip before advancing toward Bellamy & Dax. Suddenly, it was like she had all the time in the world.  
They seemed to be moving slower than before, allowing her to evade each of them, faking one way and dodging the other. As soon as she rolled past Dax, she located Miller in the goal and took her shot aiming at the open space between his left shoulder and the goal post.  
   
She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the ball fly by him and into the goal. The only reason she knew it actually went in was the sudden uproar of the random people seated in the stands and her teammates.   
   
“That’s how it’s done!” She heard Shumway shout as he approached her, patting he on the shoulder enthusiastically. Bellamy and Dax were their best two defenders. Getting past them was an incredible feat, especially for someone Lexa’s size. “How about you show them again Woods?”  
   
Lexa was all too eager to do it again. Though she wasn’t sure exactly where that came from, she had no doubt she could do it again. And again, she did. Bellamy came at her first once the whistle blew for the third time. He made a move to check her, hoping to slap the ball free, but she was much too quick for that, juking him at the last second and causing him to trip over his own two feet.  
   
Dax was next. Lexa knew he had an ego, and if there was anything he hated, it was being shown up on the field. Now he was out to prove himself. Once he got close enough, he dropped his right shoulder, ready to lay her out and end this. But just before he could make contact, Lexa psyched him out, throwing her stick arm over his back and stepping around him, sending him to the ground as well scoring on Miller once again.  
   
Lexa removed her helmet and threw a look to her sister and Raven up in the stands, before rejoining her teammates in the line. She briefly caught a smile from Clarke as she looked away.  
   
“Someone’s been practicing over the summer!!” Shumway yelled over all the cheers and accolades everyone was throwing Lexa’s way. “Woods is showing me how bad she wants to make first line this year! Who else?”  
   
Once the rest of the team had their chance at the drill, they moved on to other exercises that allowed Lexa to showcase her new skills. Each and every time, she outshined everyone else on the team. After a while, she stopped being surprised by her prowess on the field and started trusting her instincts.  

* * *

 

Luna’s eyes are focused on her sister’s movements. She was expecting to see the same unsure steps she saw over the summer. Lexa, as naturally athletic as she was, lacked a certain confidence on the field that prevented her from being the player she very well could be. She lacked the instinct needed to navigate the field full of defenders. But now, Lexa had those very skills in spades.   
   
The way the younger Woods teen moved was almost swift, precise and calculated. She knew what she was doing out there and never for a second questioned it. It’s like she was a whole new person on the field, one that was better than even Luna was during her high school years.  
   
Luna narrowed her eyes watching every sidestep Lexa executed to perfection. Those defenders never stood a chance at stopping her, not with how quickly she was moving. If Luna didn’t know any better, she would swear that Lexa’s newfound agility was similar to that of…  
   
Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Turning her head towards the bottom right corner of the bleachers, she saw a familiar figure staring back at her. Luna’s feet moved of their own accord, taking her down the steps of the stands, grabbing Lincoln’s arm roughly and pulling him around the side, away from public eyes. “What the hell are you doing here?” She asked in a low, harsh tone.  
   
“I needed to talk to you.” Lincoln answered her.  
   
“I’ll meet up with you later, I’m with my sister right now.” Luna looked around the field to make sure Lexa or nobody else noticed the two of them speaking.  
   
“It’s about your sister.” This snapped her attention back.  
   
“What about her?” It was Lincolns turn to grab Luna’s arm, pulling her further behind the bleachers not wanting to risk anyone overhearing the contents of their pending conversation.  
   
“Do you know where she was last night?” Lincoln asked, calmer this time.  
   
“Why?”  
   
“Because I think she was bitten.” There was a long, tense pause as they both looked at one another. Lincoln took a deep breath before speaking again. “Gustus was killed a few weeks ago.”  
   
“Holy shit.” Luna’s eyes went so wide they nearly popped out of her skull. Gustus was the patriarch of the Arkadia pack. He helped maintain the balance of all supernatural entities living within the town, making sure no harm came to any of the locals. His death meant there could very well be a strong change in the dynamic of not only his pack, but all throughout the Arkadian County. “By who?”  
   
“We don’t know.”  
   
“How do you not know? He was you’re alpha.”  
   
“Not anymore. Best we can figure is he was killed by some Omega. There’s been one spotted in the area. We’ve been combing the woods every night since Gustus was attacked, but no luck finding him. Whoever he is, he knows how to cover his tracks and hide from us.”  
   
Luna weighed the information in her head. “So, this Omega… he’s your Alpha now.” She stated rather than asked, knowing the answer.  
   
All Lincoln could do was nod. “And none of us know who it is.”  
   
“And he bit my little sister?” She added. Her voice broke through that last sentence. Never in her life did she think anything like this would happen to her kid sister. “What happened?” Luna asked him, needing to know the specifics. “Last night” She clarified.  
   
“A bunch of us were out in the woods late last night. There were reports of an animal attacking a pair of hikers. We went out on a search to pick up a scent to follow before the cops showed up. That’s when we saw him… off in the distance. We followed him for a while and that’s when we heard him attack her.”  
Lincoln continued, thinking she wanted all of the gory details. “I thought he was going to kill her, but he let her get away. I followed her back to your house and I could smell the blood.”  
   
“So, there’s a chance it didn’t take, then.” Luna argued hopefully, knowing deep down that she was grasping on invisible straws. “I mean, it’s possible.”  
   
“Think about it. How else is she moving that way? And you could sense something was off when you hugged her right? That’s a human going through the change.”  
   
Luna took a moment to let the info sink in. She looked out to the field and caught sight of her baby sister running end of practice ladder drills, sprinting faster than everyone else without even breaking a sweat or breathing heavily. “How sure are you?” She asked defeated, ready to accept the inevitable and figure out a way to move forward.  
   
“I’m positive she was bitten.” Lincoln said looking towards Lexa too. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her all day from a distance just in case, but looking at her now, I’d say it took.” 

* * *

 

The minute Coach Shumway blew that final whistle, Lexa felt relief wash through her but at the same time, she was a bit upset that it was over so soon. She felt like she was just getting into her groove and wanted to ride that wave until she crashed.  
   
Coach huddled everyone together one last time to go over the practice schedule for the week and give everyone their praises for a great first day back. Finally, he dismissed them, and Lexa headed over to the bench to take off her shoulder pads and gloves. She was so wrapped up in her own head, replaying every second she was just on the field that she didn’t notice someone approach her.  
   
“Hey.” Came a chipper voice to her right, and when she looked up, she was met with the same blonde hair, blue eyed combo that had her heart skipping all day long.  
   
“Hi…” Lexa choked out. “Hey.”  
   
“It’s umm. It’s Lexa, right?” Clarke somewhat tried to feign ignorance, hoping she didn’t sound too much like a stalker.  
   
“Yeah, that’s… that’s me.” Lexa mentally cursed herself for talking like a bumbling buffoon around this beautiful girl.  
   
Clarke adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag. “I’m Clarke. We actually have a few classes together.”  
   
“Oh yeah, I’ve noticed.” That was an understatement.  
   
“I just, I wanted to thank you for loaning me your pen in homeroom today. You were seriously a lifesaver. How’d you know?”  
   
“Oh uhmm…” Lexa had to think quick on her feet. The last thing she needed was the new girl thinking she was some kind of freak. “First day at a new school. Sometimes the little things get forgotten, and I was just trying to be friendly.”  
   
“Well you were, and I appreciate it.” Clarke tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, granting herself a few extra milliseconds to compose herself before answering. “I can give it back to you tomorrow if that’s okay.”  
   
Lexa waved her off. “No, you keep it. Think of it as a ‘Welcome to Arkadia’ gift or something.” The two of them shared a laugh.  
   
“You’re sweet. And an amazing athlete. I mean you were incredible out there. I’ve never really been into Lacrosse, but after today… I kinda can’t wait to see your first game.”  
   
“Thanks.”  
   
Clarke bit her bottom lip. “So, how long have you been playing?”  
   
“Since I was a kid. My sister was the star of the team until she graduated a few years ago, so I’m supposed to carry on her legacy or however she said it.”  
   
“Cool, so it runs in the family.”  
   
“I guess so, yeah.” Lexa chuckled nervously. Clarke found it cute.  
   
“HEY CLARKE!!!” Came Octavia’s voice from behind Lexa. Both she and Clarke looked over her shoulder to see the young, raven-haired girl standing with her brother and friends waving for Clarke to come with them.  
   
“I’d better go.” Clarke said, and Lexa could swear she could detect a small trace of disappointment in her tone.  
   
“I should too.”  
   
“But we’ll… talk tomorrow?” Clarke asked, growing hopeful.  
   
Lexa felt like a bobble-head with how much she was nodding. “Yeah… yeah you know where to find me.”  
   
“Cool.” They both stood there awkwardly, not wanting to break the conversation. “Okay, bye.” Clarke finally said, giving Lexa one last smile before walking past her and headed to join Octavia and the rest of them.  
   
Lexa couldn’t help but stare after the retreating blonde, hoping to god they would have many more conversations in the very near future. “Later.”  
   
She lets out a breath she forgot she was holding, releasing with it, the last of the residual nerves. Though she was only able to savor the sight for a moment longer, snapping back to reality upon Raven’s approach.  
   
“Wow.” Raven began with a devilish smirk plastered across her face. “Someone’s having a great day.”  
   
Lexa was on cloud nine. Between a stellar practice and the awkward but adorable conversation she just had with the blonde, nothing could wipe away the goofy grin she was wearing. “Did you see that?”  
   
“I did. You should ask her out.”  
   
“I can’t ask her out,” Lexa looked at her incredulously. “She just got here. Plus, I have no idea if she’s even in to girls.”  
   
“Trust me, she is. During your entire two-minute conversation, I counted a total of 8 heart eyes she was sending your way. Of course, that pales in comparison to the 127 you sent back at her, but you’re just a gay mess so it’s understandable.”  
   
Lexa narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “I really hate you sometimes, you know that?”  
   
“You hate that you love me, that’s what that is.” Raven corrected.  
   
“Whatever. Where’s Luna?” Lexa asked, eyes scanning the area in search of her older sister, hoping to get some expert-level feedback on her performance.  
   
“Oh, she had to leave. She wanted me to tell you that you did great and she’ll meet you at home, asked me to give you a ride. She seemed kinda off though, like something was up.”  
   
“Do you know what it was?”  
   
Raven just shrugged. “No clue. But I did see her talking to Lincoln behind the bleachers.”  
   
“Lincoln Whittle? What was he doing here?”  
   
It was Raven’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. They talked for a bit, then she was on the phone with someone and after she hung up she left.”  
   
“I guess I’ll talk to her when I get home. You cool to hang while I shower and change really quick?” Lexa asked as she picked up her gear, throwing her bag over her shoulder.  
   
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be around.”  
   
“Cool, thanks.” With that, Lexa made her way back to the locker room, ready to wash away the dirt and sweat she just accumulated during the last hour and a half.

* * *

 

**Ten Minutes Later – Locker Room**  
   
Lexa was glad that the locker room was empty. She was never one to feel comfortable having to change in front of people. A part of her was always a little paranoid that the other girls found her presence unsettling, but nobody ever said anything. For that she was grateful.  
   
Standing at the sink, in front of the mirror wearing only her shorts and a sports bra, Lexa peeled the bandage from her side slowly and carefully, praying like hell that the water from the shower wouldn’t cause the wound to sting.

 Looking down to assess how bad it looked a day later, Lexa was more than shocked to find that there was nothing there. Her eyes panickily danced between where the wound should be and the mirror to get a better angle.  
   
Lexa gripped the sides of the sink, squeezing the porcelain between her hands and shutting her eyelids tight. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before opening them once again and glancing back down, looking at nothing but smooth skin.  
   
She met her own eyes in the reflection in front of her and went over the events of the night before. It was cold, she was scared and there was a chance she hit her head when she fell in the ravine. That coupled with the 6-mile trek while drenched in mud water, she may have been disoriented to say the least. It was all some weird hallucination, she convinced herself. She dreamt the whole thing; the wolf, the bite, all the blood. None of it happened. Lexa repeated those last four words several times before heading into the showers, hoping if she said it enough she’d start to believe herself.

* * *

**Later – Lexa’s House**

   
Raven’s Bronco pulled up into the driveway of the Woods residence. Lexa grabbed her stick and gym bag up off the floor of the passenger seat and hopped out, walking around to the driver side to bid a farewell to her best friend.  
   
“Thanks for the ride Rae!” She called over the rumbling of the engine Raven undoubtedly ‘tweaked’ once Sinclair got her the truck.  
   
“Yeah anytime. Call me later!” Raven yelled putting the car in reverse and backing out.   
   
“Will do!” Lexa could still hear the car well after it drove down the street and disappeared around the corner. She walked up the pathway to her front door and unlocked it, setting her bag and stick down off to the side in the entryway. “Luna!” She shouted through the eerily quiet house. “You here?” Once again, she was met with silence. “Luna?!”  
   
Figuring her sister stopped off at the hospital to see their mom before coming to the house, Lexa made her way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. As she stepped into the kitchen, she stopped when she saw Luna sitting at the dining table staring off into space, not making a sound.  
   
“Oh.” Lexa said surprised. “You are here. Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Luna only looked up to meet her baby sister’s eyes but didn’t say a word. In Lexa’s opinion, she looked pale and scared. “What? What’s wrong?” Lexa asked approaching her slowly so as not to startle her.  
   
Luna took a deep shuddering breath and finally spoke. “We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it. Let me know what you think and how it's going so far.


	4. What's Past Is Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna & Lexa talk; Lexa finds out what she is; Clarke visits her mom at work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long. I promise it's only because I want to make sure I give you my best and not some crap I type out just for the sake of updating quicker. I appreciate every view, kudos & comment. If you have any questions or additional comments check out my tumblr. Let me know if there are any grammatical errors or if something doesn't make sense. Enjoy!!
> 
> https://jaycal14.tumblr.com/

They rode in silence the whole way. Luna gripped the steering wheel of her Chevy Malibu so tightly, her knuckles turned white. The car was one of several extravagant graduation gifts she received from their father in his pathetic and thinly veiled attempt at buying back her affection and forgiveness for the events that caused he and his wife to split. Luna had no intention of letting him off the hook anytime soon. At least, not until he apologized to the one he actually owed it to. But she had no problem accepting his guilt-gifts in the meantime.  
   
Lexa sat in the passenger’s seat confused and somewhat nervous. She had never seen Luna act this way; suddenly going silent and distant. The younger girl stared blankly out the window, lost in her own mind trying to figure out what was wrong with her sister. The only thing she could think of that Luna would want to talk to her about was their father. Lexa knew he had been reaching out to Luna, wanting to see her and rebuild their relationship. Luna had always refused, wanting nothing to do with him until he fixed things with Lexa, but that made the younger girl feel guilty. No matter how many times Lexa told Luna not to ruin her relationship with their father because of her, Luna would claim that he was the one ruining their relationship.  
   
Lexa was too wrapped up in her own mind to notice where they were headed until they pulled into the South side entrance of Glowing Forrest Park Reserve, the same place Raven had driven them to the night before. She convinced herself that it was just a coincidence. Turning to face Luna, she saw her unbuckle her seatbelt.  
   
“C’mon.” Was all Luna said as she exited the car and began walking the path of the park towards the tree line, not waiting for Lexa to catch up and completely ignoring her when she asked what they were doing her. Luna just kept walking further into the forest with a purpose.  
   
It was at least fifteen minutes into their trek and Lexa had had enough. “Okay, you’re starting to freak me out. What is going on? What’s wrong?” Luna never said a word, just kept walking. “Is it school?” Lexa ventured but was once again met with silence from her older sister. “Are you and Derrick having problems?”  
   
Luna just kept on walking, trudging through the woods, a woman on a mission. Just before Lexa was opening her mouth to ask, yet again, what they were doing out there, Luna suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at her.  
   
“What happened when you were out here last night?” Luna asked, her voice shaky.  
   
Lexa looked back at her confused. “What? Wait, how did you know I was out here last night?”  
   
“Just answer the question Lexa. What happened?”  
   
Lexa let out a sigh. She may as well come clean, they promised never to lie to each other. “Raven and I were looking for that missing hiker. I know it was stupid, but she talked me into it. We came out here, we saw the search party and all the cops. I hid… but Raven got caught by Sinclair, he took her home. And I walked myself home.”  
   
Luna nodded, processing all the information and using it to paint a picture in her head. “What else?” She asked somewhat forcefully.  
   
“That’s not enough?”  
   
“Lexa.” Luna breathed out in exasperation.  
   
Another loud sigh and Lexa continued. “As I was walking, I… tripped over the hiker’s dead body.”  
   
“What’d you do?”  
   
 “I freaked!” Lexa yelled as though it was the most obvious answer to the question. “I got up and I ran away. But it was dark… and my eyes don’t have a night-vision setting. I fell down a hill and landed in a ravine.”  
   
Luna started slowly closing the distance between them, eyes deadlocked onto Lexa’s as hers were cast to the ground, reliving the events of last night. “And then what happened?” She tried to coax out of her.  
   
Images of the wolf lunging at her, teeth bared and eyes glowing danced across Lexa’s mind. She could still hear the deep growl, could still feel it’s sharp teeth puncturing the skin on her side. As quickly as everything flashed past her eyes, they were gone, and she was back standing in the woods before her older sister getting interrogated for god knows what reason.   
   
“Lexa!” Luna snapped when she didn’t answer her right away. “Focus! What happened after you fell into the ravine? What did you do?”  
   
“I got back up… and I kept on going until I hit the highway on the other side of the reserve.” She lied. She had convinced herself that everything else that happened was nothing more than a vivid nightmare that she just couldn’t shake yet.  
   
But Luna knew better than to take what she said to heart. “And that’s it? You didn’t see anything? Nothing else happened?” Lexa remained silent. In her mind, this conversation was going absolutely nowhere and the last thing she wanted to do was tell her sister she was bitten by a wolf and that bite mark had disappeared in a matter of hours. “Lexa…. Tell me about the wolf.”  
   
Lexa’s eyes snapped up at her sister, her face equal parts shocked, scared and confused. “H-How… how do you know about that?” She breathed out shakily.  
   
Luna’s expression softened considerably. She felt for the teen standing in front of her. Lexa had never looked so scared in all her life.   
   
“Did it bite you?” The only response she got was a timid nod. “Show me.” Again, she was met with silence. Lexa’s hand subconsciously grabbed at the hem of her shirt but hesitated and Luna knew for sure. “It healed didn’t it?”  
   
Lexa looked back up at Luna, but this time her eyes were glistening with fresh, unshed tears. She shook her head in denial. “No. No, that... That’s not possible. It… I dreamt it.” Looking back up at her sister, Lexa knew that it was no dream. “It wasn’t a dream was it?” She asked, her voice sounding so small it  
damn near broke Luna’s heart. Tears fell from green eyes without hesitance. “What is this mean?” The older girl walked up to her sister, placing her hands on each shoulder. With nothing but genuine care for her only sibling, Luna pulled her in for a hug, kissing her on the forehead. Together they stood, the only sound heard was the two of them breathing calmly trying to collect themselves.  
   
“Lex.” Luna whispered as she pulled away slightly looking down into a pair of scared green eyes, “I’m sorry.”  
   
Before Lexa could even ask why she felt the need to apologize, Luna’s hand had already swung back, striking her clear across the face with a slap that echoed off the trees and bounced back at them. Lexa fell back a few steps feeling the sting.  
   
“OW!!!. Luna what the hell?” She screamed at her sister in disbelief. On instinct, she cautiously brought her own hand up to her face, feeling the assaulted skin.  
   
“I’m sorry.” She repeated. “I wish there was an easier way to do this.” Again, Luna slapped her sister across the face. Lexa stumbled back, this time almost falling over completely but she threw her free hand out to steady herself.  
   
“Stop It!!!” She screamed feeling her blood begin to boil and her heart hammering in her chest.  
   
“I can’t!” Luna argued. “I have to see it for myself… and so do you!” Lexa had no idea what she was talking about, her sister sounded like she was losing her mind. Luna raised her hand yet again but this time, curled her fingers in to form a fist and struck Lexa across her cheekbone. Neither of them couldn’t deny hearing the crack the bone made upon impact.  
   
“I said STOP!!!” Lexa’s voice thundered louder than it ever had before. Just as Luna swung her arm to land yet another punch, Lexa caught her fist in her own hand. Luna looked at her sister and saw her worst fear come true. Lexa’s eyes were glowing a bright, golden yellow. Her teeth grew into fangs on full display. Luna looked down at her fist enveloped in her sister’s hand with nails that were now razor-sharp claws, digging into her skin. The grip she had became stronger with each passing second.  
   
Suddenly, Lexa opened her mouth and let out a roar that reverberated throughout the entirety of the forest. Luna could feel the energy coming off of her. Most of it was anger which wasn’t surprising but there were also traces of fear.   
   
Lexa needed her big sister now more than ever and Luna could sense that. Fighting back a new wave of tears and the harsh grip her hand was in, Luna freed herself and placed her hands on her sister’s cheeks.  
   
“Lexa! Calm down! Look at me, look at me! You need to calm down. Okay… Just breathe.” Lexa was trying, she really was, but she felt like she was having a panic attack. She dropped down to her knees, feeling Luna do the same. Her breathing was heavy, and every inch of her skin felt like it was on fire. “That’s it, Lex. Just keep breathing.” Luna coaxed.  
   
Lexa looked down to the ground, her eyes landing on a puddle of water and saw her own reflection staring back at her. What she saw scared her more than anything she had ever experienced. She couldn’t look at that anymore, opting instead to look back up at her sister, her eyes pleading. “What’s happening to me?”

 Luna took a deep breath and looked her sister in the eye with a stern face. “Listen to me. You were bitten by a werewolf. And that bite turned you into one as well.” Lexa’s eyes went wide as she stared back at her sister. “Hey… you are going to be just fine. I’m going to help you through this. I promise you.”  
   
“How? How do you know anything about this?”  
   
Luna closed her eyes and exhaled once again. This time, when her eyes opened up they too were glowing the same golden yellow as the new wolf before her.  
   
“Because I’m one too.” Luna said.   
   
Lexa was at a loss for words. She and Luna told each other everything, there was never a secret not shared between the two. When they were kids and Lexa would run to her big sister seeking protection from their parent’s punishment after getting into typical childish antics, Luna would say ‘Always tell me the truth so that I can lie for you’. And so, she did, and each and every time Luna had her back. It was hard to believe that she kept something this major hidden from Lexa for who knows how long.  
   
Before she could figure out what to say, if anything, both girls heard the snap of tree branch a few yards behind them. Their heads whipped around in the direction of the noise just in time to see a head duck down behind a fallen tree. For a few seconds all was silent. The intruder slowly crept their head back up, checking to see if the coast was clear, but once they saw that they had been caught, they slowly rose up further, making their very obvious presence know.   
   
“Raven?”

* * *

  
   
 **Arkadia General Hospital**

  
   
No matter what city or town she ever lived in, Clarke found that most hospitals were the same. That’s what went through her mind and she walked through the front doors of Arkadia General and saw the nurses station straight ahead of her. Just as she approached, ready to throw on her go-to smile and introduce herself to one of the nurses, her mother was emerging from one of the exam rooms across the hall, handing over the chart to get filed away.   
   
“Hey mom.”  
   
Abby’s eyes snapped up, showing her excitement at seeing her daughter. “Clarke. Hi sweetheart.” The two shared a quick hug. “How was school?” She asked as they pulled away.  
   
“Good, actually.”  
   
“You know what,” Abby began, looking around and noticing things were quiet at the moment. “I’m just about to go on my break. Let’s sit down and you can tell me all about it.” She motioned for her daughter to follow her down the corridor, around the corner and into a lounge room for the staff.  
   
They sat down at one of the tables after Abby had poured a coffee for herself and grabbed a bottle of water out the fridge for Clarke.  
   
“So… How was it? Tell me everything.” Abby was always excited to hear about her daughter’s days. She felt bad about all the moving around. It seemed like every time the young blonde was just starting to get settled and make friends, her husband’s job forced them to relocate. Abby knew it was hard on Clarke, so she tried to make up for it.  
   
“It was fine, mom. The teachers were really nice, none of my classes seem too difficult. Honestly it went better than most of the other times.”  
   
“How about the students? Did you make any new friends?”  
   
Clarke nodded, recalling her day. “A few yeah. I met this girl Octavia in my 2nd period French class. We hung out and she introduced me to her little circle of friends, but their core group is mainly her, her older brother Bellamy, this guy Miller and a girl named Gina.”  
   
Abby’s smile grew. “Good! I’m glad it went well. I know all this moving around has been hard on you and some of the schools you’ve gone to hasn’t consisted of the greatest students, but I’m happy that this one seems like a good fit. I’ve spoken to Marcus and he says that he can now run things from home with light traveling here and there, so we’ll be here for a while. No more moving, no more new schools, none of that.”  
   
“I appreciate that. And this seems like a nice little town to live in.”  
   
Both women’s attention was pulled toward the door when Becca walked in with her phone to her ear leaving a voice message. “Hey baby-girl, it’s mom. Just wanted to call and see how your day went. Call me back when you get this. I should be home a little later. Love you kiddo, bye.” Getting a good look at her, there was something familiar about her to Clarke, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.  
   
“Oh Becca.” Abby called, getting the woman’s attention and waving her over. “Come here. I wanted to introduce you to my daughter Clarke. Clarke this is Becca, she’s one of the nurses on my rotation and a complete angel with the patients.”  
   
“It’s nice to meet you.” Clarke said politely.  
   
“You too. Your mom has been talking about you all day.”  
   
“Clarke here was just telling me about her first day at school.” Abby mentioned. She knew Becca had a daughter the same age.  
   
“Oh right, you’re going to Arkadia High?” Becca recalled.  
   
“Yeah, I’m a sophomore.”  
   
Abby looked at the time on her watch to check how much longer she had for her break when she realized just how late Clarke had shown up. “Did you have to stay late and talk to your teachers?”  
   
“No. Octavia and her friends asked me to stay with them and watch the lacrosse practice. It’s a pretty big sport out here. Like high school football in Texas.”  
   
“Wait,” Becca spoke up, “you were at the Lacrosse practice?” Clarke nodded. “How did it go? My daughter is on the team. She’s been stressing over the first practice all summer?”  
   
That’s when it all clicked together. “Wait, Lexa’s your daughter?” She should have known. Lexa looked just like her mother. Though Becca was a bit paler than her daughter, she and Lexa shared the same general facial features from their sharp jawline to the green of their eyes. “She was incredible. Yeah. I don’t know much about the sport, but she was hands down the best one on the field. We actually have a few classes together. First period, she loaned me a pen. We talked for a little bit after practice ended. She’s really sweet.”  
   
Becca noticed the way Clarke spoke of her youngest daughter with blatant adoration and if the amused look on Abby’s face was any indication, she had noticed it as well. “Yeah, she is. I like to think she gets that from me. Lord knows she didn’t get her athleticism from me.”  
   
“I take it she got that from her dad?” Abby added.  
   
“Hopefully that’s the only trait she gets from him.” Becca responded causing Abby to give her a curious look. “He’s been out of the picture ever since Lexa came out a few years ago.”  
   
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Abby shot a quick, almost undetectable glance at her daughter to see if she had caught the last bit of info Becca offered. Clarke had divulged her bisexuality to her mother and stepfather a while back as well. Though, that situation went a lot better than Lexa’s had.  
   
Becca shrugged. She had since gotten over it all and was glad that she was no longer married to a man who hid his true colors for so long. “Yeah, well… good riddance. My girls are all I will ever need anyway.”  
   
Abby decided to change the topic. “Oh, you have another daughter?”  
   
“Yes. Luna is my oldest.” Becca began, pulling up a photo of the three of them on her phone. Clarke and couldn’t help but smile. The three Woods women had their faces pressed together, side-by-side, trying to fit themselves in the frame of the camera, smiling brightly. Anyone looking at that photo could tell how close the mother-daughter trio were. “She just started her second year the University in TonDc. Then Lexa is my baby girl.” Becca always got the same loving smile on her face when talking about her daughters. Clarke’s eyes were glued to Lexa’s side of the picture. Her light brown hair was thrown up in a messy bun on top of her head as her eyes looked to the camera through her adorable dark-rimmed glasses.  
   
“Actually, I think I saw Luna at practice too.” Clarke added, suddenly putting two-and-two together.  
   
“Really?” Becca was a bit taken aback. Luna never mentioned that she would be coming into town.  
   
“Yeah. She was sitting with Raven in the stands cheering her head off.”  
   
“They always were extremely close. Then again, Lexa and Raven are pretty damn close too.”  
   
At that, Clarke had to laugh, remembering the little squabble between Raven & Lexa that morning after the Sherriff left. “Yeah, they were pretty amusing in homeroom this morning.”  
   
Becca shook her head. “I don’t doubt it.”  
   
Between the way Clarke spoke about Lexa and the way she looked at her picture, Abby was getting the sense that her daughter was developing a crush on this other girl. Clarke hadn’t dated much since she was only a sophomore in high school, though the constant moving didn’t help. But now that they were prepared to stay in this town for a long while, Abby hoped that now her daughter would allow herself to pursue a relationship that was more than platonic. Since Becca had offered up the information regarding her own daughter’s sexuality, and Clarke already seemed taken with the girl, Abby decided to take it upon herself to help lay the ground work for her daughter.  
   
“So,” Abby began in that tone Clarke recognized when she was up to something, “You said Lexa plays Lacrosse? What else does she like to do?” 

* * *

**Back in The Woods**  
   
Raven stood up all the way, hands raised in the air up to her shoulders as if there was a gun aimed at her. Lexa tried to read her expression, hoping her best friend was too far away to see anything. She didn’t know what she would do if Raven started feared her.  
   
The siblings rose to their feet as Raven took slow, tentative steps towards them, hands still raised showing she wasn’t preparing to make any hasty or sudden movements. For several moments, no one said a word. The space between them grew smaller until they were standing a good arms-length apart.  
   
“What um…. What-what are you doing here?” Luna asked nervously.  
   
Raven looked to Lexa when she answered. “You left your backpack in my truck. When I drove back to drop it off, I saw you guys driving away. Something felt off to me, so I followed.” Her eyes danced between the sisters. “I honestly didn’t expect this.”  
   
“So…” Lexa began, trying to build up the frame of mind to speak. “What exactly did you see?”  
   
“I saw… everything.” Lexa let out a breath. “So, what you told me… about the wolf and the bite… it was true?” Raven asked.  
   
“Yes.”  
   
“And that means you’re a werewolf.”  
   
Lexa looked to Luna, still trying to wrap her mind around this as well. “I guess so.”  
   
Raven nodded then looked to Luna as well. “And… you’re a werewolf too?” That question was asked with much more curiosity and surprise.  
   
“I am.” Luna replied with confidence.  
   
Here it was. The moment of truth. Lexa waited with bated breath, anxiously wondering what was going through her best friend’s mind. Hoping her reaction to this revelation wouldn’t spark a chain of events that led to her death. I watch way too many movies Lexa though to herself.  
   
Raven let out a sigh. “That… is just…. So… FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!” That was the last thing either Lexa or Luna expected. The two shared a look as the third girl was still reveling in the fact that her best friend had joined the supernatural. “Oh my god! You’re a werewolf! This is seriously the most amazing thing to ever happen. Did it hurt? Who even bit you? Are you part of a pack now?”  
   
The sudden rapid fire of questions had Lexa’s head spinning. It had just dawned on her that she had no clue what was supposed to happen now. Who did bite her? Who was the one responsible for turning her into this? And does she have a pack? Lexa felt like she was about to be sick.  
   
As if she could sense her sisters state, Luna reached out to support Lexa and helped her sit down. “Okay, easy Lex. It’s alright.” Once Lexa was on the ground Luna moved to kneel in front of her. “I know it’s a lot to take in, and I promise I will help you every step of the way.”  
   
“Is this what happened to you?” Lexa asked wanting answers.  
   
“Yes & No.” Both teenagers were looking at Luna expectantly, waiting for her to continue. “I had planned to turn after I graduated High School.”  
   
“What?!” Came Raven.  
   
“What do you mean you planned this? Why?”  
   
“Derrick & I fell in love. We might have only been sixteen, but we knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. And in order for the pack to allow that, I had to become like him. So, I waited until I moved away for college.”  
   
Lexa couldn’t believe the new information she was receiving. “Derrick…. Derrick is a werewolf?”  
   
“His family’s pack.” Luna confirmed. “They’re based in a small Lake town just north of TonDc.”  
   
“So, you basically pulled a ‘Bella Swan’ but chose Jacob over Edward.” Raven voiced.  
   
They both chose to ignore that statement. “So… Do I… have a pack?” Never in her life did Lexa think she would utter that sentence.  
   
Luna nodded. “There’s a Pack here in Arkadia. The alpha that bit you is part of that pack. So, you are now too.”  
   
“Who is it? The alpha that bit me.”  
   
“I don’t know. And… neither do they.”   
   
“How do they not know who their own damn alpha is?” Raven asked, getting more than upset on Lexa’s behalf. “What the hell kinda jank operation are they runnin’ here?”

 “It’s complicated. Their original alpha, Gustus Whittle, was killed by a rogue wolf, an omega. When you kill another werewolf, you take its strength. If you kill an alpha… you become an alpha and inherit the pack. It sucks but it’s just the way it is.” Luna argued.  
   
“Wait… Whittle. As in Lincoln?” Lexa asked.  
   
“Gustus’ nephew.” She informed. Reading the look she was getting from both teens, Luna was able to venture a guess at their next question. “Yes, Lincoln is a werewolf too. Most of his family is.”  
   
“Holy shit!” Raven breathed out. “You mean to tell me that we’ve been living in a town that runs rampant with supernatural dog monsters every month?” Lexa & Luna snapped their heads up at Raven, looking at her in disbelief. “I mean… no offense.”  
   
Luna shook her head at the girl before turning back to her sister. “Listen Lex, I know you’re scared, but trust me when I say that everything is going to be okay. Just give me until this time tomorrow to reach out to the pack and figure out what’s going on. Okay?”  
   
“What am I supposed to do until then?” Lexa asked.  
   
“Try to act like everything is normal.” Luna instructed. “Go home, get some sleep & go to school.”  
   
“How am I supposed to act normal knowing what I know now?” Lexa rattled out rapidly, causing her to panic yet again. She was well on her way to triggering another transformation. Luna quickly brought her hands up to the side of her sister’s face.  
   
“Hey, take it easy, and just breathe okay?” She coached. “All you have to do is stay calm. If you start freaking out and panic or get too angry, it could trigger you to turn. Just relax and try to breathe through it.”  
   
All Lexa could do was nod, closing her eyes to focus on controlling her breathing.  
   
“And Lexa… remember… You can’t tell anybody. No one can know about what we are, it’s too risky. You can’t even tell mom.” Again, Lexa nodded, this time looking her sister in the eye giving her a silent promise. Luna accepted it and turned back to Raven. “That means you too.” She informed her as she stood up to be at Raven’s eye level. “If anyone finds out about us, about Lexa… she’ll be in danger.  
   
Raven nodded. She would never do anything to jeopardize the life of her best friend. It kind of went without saying, but she understood Luna’s need to acknowledge it. Protecting her sister was her first priority.  
   
All three of them were on edge. This new situation created a weird tension that floated in the air surrounding them. Which is why they all jumped when the silence was broken by the notification ring on Lexa’s phone sounded. Lexa reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone to see an alert for a new voicemail message from her mother, but there was no record of a missed call. She figured the spotty reception from being that far into the forest prevented her phone from ringing, but still allowed the message to go through.  
   
“It’s a message from mom. She probably wants to know where I am.”  
   
Luna nodded and looked to Raven. “Can you take her home for me?” When Raven said yes, Luna looked back to her sister. “There’s something I need to take care of, but tell mom I’ll be at the house later, alright?”  
   
“Okay.” Said Lexa who stood up as well. Luna pulled her little sister into a tight hug.  
   
“Everything’s going to be okay, Lex.” She assured her. “I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”  
   
“Thanks Lu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think. Also if there is anything you want to see in this fic. like certain scenes etc. I am open to suggestions so message me on tumblr.


	5. Reality Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa faces a new reality; Luna visits some old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could apologize until I'm blue in the face for taking so long to post. My only excuse is that I got a promotion at work so my hours picked up and it's been beyond crazy. But I promise, I am NOT EVER going to abandon this fic. You have my word.

 

**Lexa’s House**

For the second time that day, Raven pulled her truck into the driveway of the Lexa’s house. This time she turned the car off but left the keys in the ignition. Without the rumble of the engine, the silence quickly filled the inside of the car as neither girl moved to get out. Looking over to her best friend in the passenger seat, Raven saw Lexa staring out the window at nothing. Knowing her, she was too wrapped up in her own mind to notice they had arrived.

Several more moments passed before Raven decided to go for it. "Y’know you haven’t said a word the whole ride."

"Neither did you." Lexa countered.

"I was giving you time to do that thing you do."

Lexa whipped her head to give Raven a quizzical look. "What thing?"

"That ‘sit-and-stew’, over-analyze everything… thing."

"I don’t do that."

Raven chuckled lightly. "You kidding? You’re the queen brooding. You’re like a secondary character in a dumb CW show. But since you’re gay, they’ll kill you off the second you get a decent love interest, so…"

"…Anyway…" Lexa let out, getting her friend back on track. Raven had a tendency to venture off course during conversations and had to be reeled back in.

"Right, sorry. Off topic. How are you doing with all this?"

"You mean how am I doing now that I just found out that I’m a werewolf and so is my sister?"

"I take it not good, then?"

"How is any of this real?" Lexa asked rhetorically, ignoring Raven’s inquiry. "Werewolves can’t exist outside of cultural folklore and, like… Grimm’s fairytales. Every time I try to wrap my head around this… new reality, I start to feel like I’m about to wake up from a horrible nightmare."

"Unfortunately, this is painfully real." Raven said somewhat playfully in an untimely attempt to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, if the frightened and wretched look on Lexa’s face was anything to go for. Seeing her best friend’s emotional turmoil, Raven quickly changed her tone. "Hey. Luna was right Lex, everything is going to be okay. You don’t just have her, you got me too."

Hearing those words, Lexa hung her head. "Actually, Rae… You should probably stay away from me from now on."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked, confused.

"Rae, I’m a- a… a werewolf." That was probably the second hardest thing Lexa has ever had to admit to in her life. Suddenly, the air between them took on a familiar tenseness giving both girls the feeling of déjà vu, causing them to think back to a similar conversation that took place a few years ago when Lexa first told Raven she was gay. "And I still don’t know what that means, but what I do know is that I have no control over what happens to me. The last thing I want is to hurt somebody I care about. I mean, what if I… wolf out and accidentally claw your face off." She looked over to Raven and noticed she was stifling a laugh. "I’m being serious Rae! There’s a reason the Hulk isolates himself from the people he cares about." Lexa took a deep breath, trying to prevent herself from getting emotional as she is essentially ‘breaking up’ with her best friend. "Look, I’m sorry Rae, but… I need to protect you from me."

Lexa made a move to get out of the car, but as she grabbed the door handle, Raven hit the button on her door, engaging the locks from her side. After two more attempts at pulling the handle, Lexa gave up and let go, but couldn’t bring herself to look back at the girl in the driver seat. If she had, she would have seen the fire she had inadvertently lit behind the Latinas eyes. Raven was beyond pissed.

"You’re such an asshole, you know that?" Raven said in a harsh whisper after a few moments of them sitting in silence. "I don’t need anybody to protect me, but me. And I can sure as hell make decisions for my life by myself, you don’t need to make them for me." Raven took a moment before continuing, trying to calm herself down. "That was the last thing my mother ever said to me."

Now, Lexa felt like a jackass. It should have occurred to her that those words would remind her of one of her most painful memories. She risked looking over to her. Raven was staring through the windshield, lost in thought of that very memory; she took a deep breath, then continued.

" _‘I need to protect you from me’_. She said that right before she dragged me to Sinclair’s front step, waited for him to open the door, told him _‘She’s yours’_ and took off; never to be heard from again." Raven cleared her throat, trying her absolute damnedest not to cry. Lexa chanced another glance and saw her head turned toward her side window. When Raven felt composed enough to continue, she turned back and the two kept their gazes aimed straight ahead. "Lexa, you were there for me through all that. So, whether you like it or not, I’m going to be here for you while you go through… everything that you’re going through. Because that is what it means to be best friends, and that’s what we are."

Lexa nodded in understanding. Raven was right, they were best friends and had been through hell and back together. But even with all of that, Lexa couldn’t do anything to quell her fear.

"I just don’t want to hurt you." She said with a shaky voice.

Raven scoffed, "As if you could". It was with that sentence that she instantly lightened the mood. Lexa always wondered where she got her unwavering confidence. "Look, we’ll just take it one day at a time, alright? Luna can teach you how to control when you turn… and when she does, I’ll do what I can to help."

Lexa took a beat, nodding the knot in her throat away. "I’m not getting rid of you anytime soon, am I?" She asked with a hint of a smile breaking through.

"Just try."

The two shared a laugh, ridding themselves and the car of all the tension that had built up during the conversation. Lexa put her hand back on the door knob and waited for the click of the locks disengaging that soon followed.

"So, I’ll see you tomorrow?" Lexa asked, voice returning to its usual timbre.

"Yeah, you will."

Lexa opened the door and hopped out of the truck, walking around the front to step onto the path leading to her front door. Just before she would disappear around the corner of her porch, Raven rolled down her driver side window and called out to her.

"And hey, Lex!" She turned to face the driver. "We’ll figure this out. Luna was right. You’re not alone."

At that, Lexa could only nod her appreciation. She gave her best friend one last smile and turned back towards her house, hearing the roar of the engine come to life as she slipped her key into the lock of the front door.

* * *

 

**Arkadia Woods - NorthWest**

The sun was making its last peek over the mountain line before it finally set for the night. Luna drove her car through the break of the trees that riddled the forest, sticking to the road that hardly anyone even knew was there. It was done on purpose, to prevent people from venturing too close to the well-hidden dwelling that resided near the edge of the town line and those who inhabited it.

Luna drove on auto-pilot, her mind was too busy reliving the last few hours, going over every conversation. She left Arkadia to protect her sister from this reality. Lexa had already been through so much in her life and she was only sixteen, the last thing Luna ever wanted was to add more chaos to her life and being a werewolf in this day and age was dangerous for a teenager.

She pulled through a break in the assemblage of trees as it opened up to reveal an expanse of land on which sat the Arkadia pack compound. At the center and forefront, there was a rather large Tudor-style home. Luna steered her car onto the long cobblestone driveway, stopping just at the bottom of the porch steps. Turning her car off, she looked up at the home. She hadn’t been here in years.

Taking a deep breath, Luna got out of the car climbed up the steps with a purpose. She banged on the front door with the side of her fist and waited rather impatiently for someone to answer. It wasn’t long before the door was being opened by an older brunette woman. Luna remembered her as Denae, the unofficial ‘housekeeper’. The story Luna remembered about the older brunette woman was that Gustus’ found her one night out in the woods, in full wolf form, injured and alone; her pack having left her for dead. He took her in and gave her a home. She felt indebted to him and his family ever since.

Denae stared at Luna, face void of any expression, waiting for her to reveal her ‘identification’ to allow her to enter. Luna met Denae’s eyes and illuminated her own the same way she had for her little sister less than two hours ago. With her identity confirmed, Denae stepped aside and allowed Luna entrance into the house.

Stepping into the foyer, she waited for Denae to close the door and lead her to where the heads of the house were sure to be convening. She was taken into one of the family rooms and was met with several eyes of the Arkadia pack. Each one she recognized. Either she went to school with them at one point or her sister did now. The Arkadia pack has always been a close ally with her pack back in Polis.

Sitting in various spots around the room, looking to be in the midst of a very heavy conversation where the main body of the pack of Arkadian werewolves: Anya, Lincoln, Echo, Roan, Niylah, Tristan and Quint.

"Oh good, you knew I was coming." Luna said sarcastically, looking around to everyone in the room, gaining there attention in the process.

Anya stood from her place on one of the couches and made her way to the shaggy-haired brunette, immediately enveloping her in a hug. "It’s good to see you Lu."

"You too. Though I wish my return was under much better circumstances." As they broke apart, Luna took a good look at Anya. " I’m sorry about your father. You know if I could trade my father’s life to bring back yours… I’d do it in a heartbeat, right?"

"Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry your sister got caught up in all this."

"Speaking of that…" Luna turned to address the rest of the room. "What are we doing about this new, so-called ‘Alpha’?"

Lincoln shook his head almost defeated. "We’ve been searching the woods every night trying to find him and have come up empty."

"You couldn’t catch a scent?"

"He knows how to mask his scent to hide from other werewolves." Came Echo from her place leaned against the back of the couch. "But that’s not a surprise, I mean, he is an omega after all…. _Was_ one, anyway."

"Well then, maybe he’s left town. Laying low." At this point, Luna was at the bargaining stage. Hoping like hell, and rather naively of her, that this issue wouldn’t be something Lexa ever had to deal with until she was more than ready. If she ever made it to that point.

Lincoln folded his arms across his chest. "Not if the recent animal attacks are anything to go by."

This time Roan piped up. "There have been a few reports of deer and cows found mauled to death all over. So far, authorities think it’s the work of a cougar or mountain lion."

"A cougar is a mountain lion." Niylah corrected.

"Whatever." Roan let out with blatant irritation.

"Well, he’s gotta resurface sooner or later. We just have to be on our toes until then. For now, I’m gonna need help from all of you. My sister’s transformation is complete, we have to show her how to use her abilities and resist the alpha’s call when he does reemerge."

"We’ve got another problem…" Lincoln started, "besides the new alpha."

"Such as?"

Anya moved further into the room, crossing her arms over her chest just as her cousin had. "Hunters."

"What?"

Echo looked over to Luna. "They arrived around the same time as the new alpha. We think they’ve been tracking him for a while."

"And If that’s the case, chances are they’ll be led right to us." Added Roan.

Quint chose now to offer his opinion on the matter at hand. "Which means the last thing we need is a brand-new baby beta that can’t even control herself, drawing any more attention to us than necessary."

Luna looked at him as if he just slapped her across the face. Given what his words implied, however, he might have been better off if he had. "What exactly are you suggesting here, Quint? Keep in mind that that beta, is _my_ kid sister and a member of _your_ pack now."

Quint leaned forward in his seat, eyes locked in a glare with the brunette. "Precisely. She may be _your_ sister, but she’s in _our_ pack. Which means anything she does, blows back on us." He turns to the rest of the room, expecting the rest of them to rally behind him and decide on the same thing. "Our best option is to end her fight."

Luna had heard enough. She’d be damned if she let anyone so much as think about harming her sister. In the blink of an eye, she lunged toward Quint; claws extended at her sides & fangs bared, letting out a deep growl. Quint quickly rose from his seat, exposing his own teeth, ready for the attack. Before Luna could reach the arrogant bald man, Lincoln, Anya & Echo held her back while Niylah, Roan & Tristan held back Quint. "Touch my sister, and I’ll rip your throat out!!!"

"Enough!!!" Anya yelled, standing between the two combatants. "Quint, Back Off!!!" Each of them ceases their struggle against the ones holding them back. "We are not killing anybody. Yes, Lexa is a beta. All the more reason for us to teach her control. Once we do that, we have one more wolf on our side when we go up against the alpha and reclaim our pack. We protect our own!!"

With those last words still flowing through their ears, everyone in the room calms down and the tension dissolves. Luna took a deep breath, running her hand through her hair.

"I’ll be in town for a while." She said to Anya & Lincoln, then looking through the others to let her eyes meet those of Quint’s. "I’m going to protect my sister, with my last dying breath." She then looked to everyone else one last time before turning away. "I’ll be in touch."

With that, Luna makes her exit.

* * *

 

**Later – Woods’s Home**

After her initial shock wore off and she had the second existential crisis of her life, Lexa took a long hot shower and finished reading through all the semester outlines for all of her classes just to keep in mind what to expect. Having her laptop sitting right in front of her, she decided to look up a few things to get better clarification, but soon got distracted. On a naïve impulse, Lexa opened up a new tab in her browser and typed ‘werewolves’ into the search bar. The minute she hit enter, she found herself lost in the whirlwind of supernatural mythology and legends dating back centuries.

It was almost an hour that had gone by, diving deeper and deeper into the craze reading every page that looked the least bit credible. She was brought out of the rabbit hole when a knock on her bedroom door sounded and she quickly switched the tab back over before whipping around in her desk chair to find her mother standing in her doorway, home from work.

"Hey baby." Becca greeted with a sweet smile. She looked around her daughter to the computer screen seeing a page open regarding the American Revolution. "Homework?"

"Uh…. Yeah. Just trying to get ahead."

Becca took a seat on the edge of the bed. "You alright? You seem kind of out of it."

"I’m fine. Just tired. It’s been a… really, long day." Lexa huffed out, the weight of everything that went on that day finally hitting her.

"I’ll bet." Becca nodded, still smiling. "I heard about practice today. Sounds like you killed it."

Lexa nodded along with her mother, then did a double-take. "Wait, how’d you hear about it?" She asked confused.

"That new transfer student, Clarke. Her mother is the new doctor on staff. She came by the hospital to visit her mom and she told me how you did."

Lexa could do little to stop the blush from creeping up onto her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "You… you talked to Clarke?" She ventured.

"I did. She was gushing about how sweet you were to her today and how you loaned her a pen in homeroom." Becca was proud. She always raised her girls to be kind.

"Really?" Lexa smiled. "She told you about that?"

"She did. And she was wearing that same dreamy grin you’ve got on right now." Once again, Lexa blushed but tried to school her features. "You gonna ask her out?"

The younger girl rolled her eyes. "God, you sound like Raven."

"Then in this particular case, I’d say that girl is smart."

"Well I’ll tell you what I told Rae. She just moved here. I’m pretty sure dating is the last thing she’s thinking about." Lexa let her shoulders drop, reminding herself of the reality of the situation.

"You never know." Becca shrugged trying to help her see the bright side.

Lexa just shook it off. "It doesn’t matter anyway. The Blake siblings have practically inducted her in to their inner circle. Which means I am now officially ten rungs below her on the social ladder."

"Hey. You know none of that matters." Becca told her daughter somewhat sternly. All Lexa could do was give her a look; as if to say ‘really?’ "Okay, say you take a chance, and you do ask her out, and the two of you start dating. If her friends give her crap about it based off some ridiculous social hierarchy, then they’re not good friends to begin with. And if she’s the type of girl to listen to them, then maybe she’s not the right girl for you. But at least you can say you went for it. You spent this whole summer trying to better yourself, working hard so that your last few years of high school are a time you can look back on and be proud of who you were. This is the time you need to take chances and risks. You have nothing to lose."

Lexa was able to hold a stoic façade for half a second before a chuckle broke through after her mother’s speech. "What Hallmark movie did you steal that from?"

Becca grabbed a pillow off the bed and lightly smacked Lexa in the shoulder with it. "Okay, you little shit." She said as they both shared a laugh. "I’m serious. If you want it, go for it."

"Yeah, okay."

"Alright. I’m gonna head to bed." Becca rose from the bed and stood over her daughter.

"I think I will too." Her mom leaned over to give her a final kiss on the forehead, then turned to leave.

"Goodnight baby girl."

"‘Night Mama."

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think. I'm not totally convinced that I wrote any of this well. Especially the pack scene. I feel like there are too many people trying to talk and add their own comments, but I did sort of write it in a rush. Either way I apologize if it's a crappy chapter. I'll do better in later chapters. Find me on tumblr. jaycal14.tumblr.com


	6. Who's to Trust?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa has an interesting day; Minor Clexa scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this to you guys quickly as a thank you for all the comments and kudos. Working on the next chapter too so if the creative juices keep flowing it should be up soon. Enjoy!!!

 

All the stress of the previous day hit Lexa like a ton of bricks. So much so, that when she finally fell into her bed, she immediately succumbed to the exhaustion. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so deeply. Had there been some massive natural disaster during the night, Lexa was quite certain she would have been none the wiser.  
   
It took several moments for her to come to. Her eyes were still heavy, taking their sweet time to open up. As she allowed her muscles to involuntarily stretch themselves out, she made a mental note to herself to wash her sheets as they had somehow become scratchy and uncomfortable. It wasn’t until she felt the faint impression of dampness that her eyes gave way to the inevitable and opened, slowly, to accommodate from the harsh morning light. She was accustomed to the streaks of radiance that peaked through her bedroom curtains, but the brightness she could sense through her eyelids was far beyond that. As her eyes slowly opened, it occurred to her… she was no longer in her bedroom. That, or her mother or sister opened her curtains to let the sun’s rays in. She was wrong.  
   
The muscles in her eyes adjusted and her vision cleared. Suddenly, Lexa was staring up at the tree line from the forest floor. She whipped her head all around her and in doing so confirmed that she was in the middle of the woods. Quickly, she stood up and brushed away all the leaves and twigs that stuck to her like they were ants crawling all over her skin. When she was ‘relatively’ clean, Lexa once again looked around, trying to gauge exactly where she was. The morning fog, however, was too thick for her to see more than 10 yards in front of her, in any direction.  
   
Much like she did a few nights prior, she resolved that her best course of action was to just start walking and hopefully gain her bearings on the journey a bit easier now given that there was daylight. Lexa barely made it a few steps when the sound of a twig snapping alerted her that someone was behind her. She turned around and could see a faint figure through the murkiness of the fog. Green eyes squinted, tried to get a better look. That’s when she noticed red eyes were staring right back at her. The minute her brain registered just who was in the woods with her, she heard the deep, low growl of the alpha. It brought her back to that night, her instincts kicked in again and she took off running in the opposite direction. This time, she payed careful attention to where she stepped, not wanting her every action to mirror the night she was attacked.  
   
Her safe haven came in the form of a cement wall about 15 yards ahead of her. By the looks of it, it was a rear wall for a residential backyard and it didn’t look that high. As she got closer, she prepared herself to make the leap, assessing her body’s capacity to perform such an athletic task. That’s when she felt it. She felt strong, stronger than she ever felt before in her life.  
   
In one bound, Lexa’s hands gripped the top of the wall and swung her legs over. She was so preoccupied with looking back to see if the alpha was still behind her, that she didn’t see where she was aimed to land. All of a sudden, Lexa was submerged into ice cold water. It was a definite shock to her system. If the fear and adrenaline didn’t wake her up all the way, inadvertently jumping into a cold pool first thing in the morning sure as hell was enough to do so.  
   
Coming up for air, Lexa gasped, not having taken a breath before going under. As she worked to get her breathing back under control, she looked up at the wall, waiting to see if the alpha had followed her over. When a few moments went by and there was no sign of him, Lexa allowed the relief to flood through her. She was brought out of her daze when she heard a throat clearing behind her. Spinning  
around in the deep end of the pool, still treading water, she found who she assumed to be the owner of the house and pool, standing at the edge, looking at her expectantly and dumbfounded.  
   
Lexa looked back up at him. “Uhmm…” she let out nervously, not exactly knowing what to say. “Good morning, sir. Beautiful day for a swim, huh?

It was a good 30 minutes later that Lexa was finally walking through the front door of her home. After getting kicked out, rather nicely, by the man whose backyard she essentially trespassed in, she found herself less than two miles from her own house. So, without her phone or any other means to call either her sister or Raven, Lexa did the only thing she could do. Walk.

* * *

  
 As quietly as she possibly could, Lexa opened the front door, thankful that it was unlocked, and tried to sneak back inside. Her effort went in vain when she turned towards the stairs and saw her mother descending the steps heading straight for her.  
   
“Where the hell have you been? I went to wake you up for school, but you weren’t in your room.” Becca asked using her thumb to point over her shoulder.  
   
“Oh…” Lexa tried to quickly come up with a lie to tell her mother that wouldn’t raise suspicion. This was really more Raven’s forte. “Yeah I went for an early morning jog.”  
   
Becca looked at her daughter quizzically before glancing down at her dirty bare feet. “Without any shoes?”  
   
Lexa too looked down at her feet. “Uh… I read an article that running shoes actually end up doing more damage to your knees and feet muscles.” Becca just looked at her like she had officially gone crazy. “The Kenyan’s do it all the time.”   
   
“Ok weirdo. Just make sure you don’t catch pneumonia or anything. I’m headed out to work, I’ll see you later. Don’t be late for school.” Deciding to let it go, Becca placed her hands on her youngest daughter’s cheeks and pulled her in to kiss her on the forehead, then walked around her to leave out the front door. “Have a good day!” She calls back over her shoulder, then closed the front door behind her.  
   
It was then that Luna walked out of the kitchen, having heard the entire exchange.  
   
“Hey.” She called to her little sister, getting her to turn around. “How’d you sleep?”  
   
“Oh, I slept fantastically!” Lexa said with the most severe sarcasm. “Y’know, until this morning when I woke up in the middle of the fucking Forrest!”  
   
“What?”  
   
“Yup!” She yelled. “Apparently I was sleepwalking. I do that now. You failed to mention that fun little fact yesterday!” Lexa started to make her way up the steps but was stopped when Luna placed a hand on her wrist, causing her to turn back towards her sister.  
   
“Okay, relax.”  
   
“I’m not going to relax! Because less than thirty seconds after I realized where I was, I was getting chased by the son of a bitch that bit me and turned me into this in the first place!”  
   
If she didn’t have Luna’s undivided attention before, she certainly had it now. “Wait… he was out there? The alpha?”  
   
“If that’s what you want to call him. I’ll gladly stick with ‘son-of-a-bitch’… that’s what’s working for me right now.” Lexa said bitterly.  
   
“How did you know it was him?”  
   
“You mean aside from the fact that he was big and mean and had glowing red eyes?... I don’t know, Lu it was a feeling I had.”  
   
“What kind of feeling?”  
   
Lexa shook her head. “I don’t… it was like some weird connection. I can’t explain it.”  
   
Luna, who still held her grip on her sister’s wrist, gave it a light squeeze and pulled her closer, looking her in the eyes. “Listen to me Lex. If you ever run into him again, and you get that feeling or any feeling at all… you run. You come find me. No matter what, do not trust him. Do you understand?”  
   
Lexa could see the fear in Luna’s eyes. Match that with the fear she herself felt each time she had a runin with the alpha, she knew that trusting him was not a viable option in survival. “Yeah. I understand.”  
   
“Good.” Luna said, finally letting go of Lexa’s wrist. “Now why don’t you go shower. You kinda stink.”  
   
The sisters shared a chuckle. “You’re an asshole.” Lexa told her just before she headed back up the stairs to get ready for school. 

* * *

  
“What do you mean you woke up in the Woods?” Raven asked in a harsh whisper, careful not to let any passersby overhear them, but still in absolute amazement in what she was just told.   
   
Lexa closed her locker and turned to look at her best friend, more than a little flummoxed at her responding question. “Okay… I don’t know how to explain that to you any differently. When I woke up this morning, I was in the Woods.”  
   
After she showered, changed and completed the rest of the tasks in her usual morning ritual, albeit a little quicker than normal, Luna drove her little sister to school.  
   
“Alright, smart-ass.” Raven laughed, nudging her friend as the two made their way down the hall toward their homeroom class. “I meant how did that happen?”  
   
Lexa just shrugged. “I was sleep-walking I guess.”  
   
“So, what, do all werewolves sleepwalk or is that just a ‘you’ thing?”  
   
“Hell, if I know.” According to Luna, neither she nor any of the other werewolves in her pack back in Polis had ever had a problem with sleepwalking.  
   
“What did Luna say?”   
   
“Just to not, under any circumstance, trust the alpha.”  
   
“Well, that kinda goes without saying. “  
   
“Yeah.”  
   
Raven & Lexa had made it just outside of Mr. Vie’s classroom and were just about to head inside when Lexa looked down the hallway and met eyes with Lincoln. He was staring back at her for several seconds, then gave her a single nod. Lexa’s response was to just turn back to her friend and head into class.  
   
Her mind was too preoccupied with wonder. Not just over the events in the woods this morning, but also her words with Luna and now the exchange with Lincoln. She was walking on auto-pilot when she felt Raven in front of her lightly smack her on the shoulder with the back of her hand. Looking up at the dark-haired girl, Raven motioned with her head to the back of the class where the seat behind Lexa’s was already occupied by Clarke. As they locked eyes from across the classroom, Clarke gave her a sweet smile and shy wave.  
   
With a gentle nudge from Raven, Lexa walked down the aisleway and deposited her bag down by her desk and took a seat, turning her body halfway to speak to the blonde.  
   
“Hey.” Clarke said in a failed attempt at veiling her enthusiasm.  
   
Lexa felt her throat go dry at the interaction. “Hi.” She let out hoarsely, clearing her throat and trying again. “Hey.”  
   
“So,” Clarke began, leaning forward in her seat. “I actually met your mom yesterday.”  
   
Lexa smiled remembering the conversation she had with her mother the night before. “Yeah, she mentioned that. And thank you for telling her that I was nice. She would have grounded me if she found out I wasn’t.”  
   
“Actually, the word I used was ‘sweet’.” Clarke corrected, subconsciously biting her bottom lip.  
   
“Really? All I did was loan you a pen.”  
   
“And that was a really sweet gesture; an act of kindness that put me at ease on my first day at a new school.”  
   
“Well if there’s anything else I can do to put you at ease… just let me know.” Lexa had no clue where her current confidence was coming from. Usually her flirting skills were well below subpar, but right now even she couldn’t deny how smooth she was being. Taking a quick glance at Raven, the dark-haired girl looked back at her, jutting her bottom lip out and nodded, impressed with her best friend’s newfound poise.

  
“Save me a seat at lunch?” Clarke ventured, hoping she wasn’t being too forward.  
   
“Oh… you’re not going to sit with Octavia and everybody else?” Lexa asked. Talking to her in class was one thing, but Lexa figured out in the halls, Clarke would join her new friends.  
   
The blonde just shrugged. “I want to sit with you.”  
   
Lexa was momentarily stunned “…Okay…”  
   
Neither of them could say anymore as Mr. Vie walked in and called everyone to attention. As Lexa turned all the way around in her seat, she looks to Raven once more, not even the least bit surprised that she was giving her a smirk. 

* * *

  
It was fourth period. For Lexa & Raven, that meant free period. Normally, Lexa would spend her hour in study hall updating her notes and checking her assignments, but today decided to head to the library and do some research. Raven, like always, spent her hour in the auto shop garage.  
   
After finding the book she needed for one of her classes, Lexa decided on a whim to peruse a different section of the shelves. She knew it was a long-shot, even outright asinine but she ventured to the mythological section. With any luck, she could find some form of published work on werewolf legends that could help her understand what she is now.  
   
Lexa headed down the walkway and turned between two shelves. Suddenly feeling that she is not alone anymore, her gaze was taken from the book spines and glanced down the aisle finding Echo standing there staring at her. Wanting to avoid whatever reason she was there for, Lexa turned around, ready to leave through the other side but stopped when she was met with Lincoln, blocking her in, holding his hands up in an almost surrender.  
   
“We just want to talk to you.” Lincoln spoke quietly.  
   
“About?”  
   
Lincoln lowered his hands. “I think you know what about.”  
   
“You’re one of us now.” Came Echo’s voice from her other side. “We just wanted to welcome you to the pack.”  
   
“I may be a…” Lexa choked on the word.  
   
“…a werewolf.” Lincoln finished for her.  
   
“Right. I may be one now, but I got no interest in being a part of your pack. And I’m sure you could care less what happens to me, so I’m officially not your problem.”  
   
“It’s not that simple.” Echo began, taking a few steps towards the newest member of her pack. “The night you were bitten… when you were going through the transformation, we all felt it the moment you became one of us. When you’re a part of a pack, it goes deeper than just hunting and hanging out together. There’s a mystical connection.”

 “What kind of connection?” Lexa asked, almost scared to know the answer.  
   
Lincoln decided to answer. “Basically, whatever you feel, the rest of us can feel… to a certain extent, but it’s there.”  
   
“Like the adrenaline going through you during lacrosse practice. Those butterflies in your stomach whenever you talk to Clarke.” Lexa whipped her head around as soon as Echo said the blonde’s name.  
   
“Or the fear you felt this morning.” Lincoln added.  
   
“You know about that?” Lexa’s voice was small. It was enough to remind the other two that she was just a baby. A scared, brand new Beta.  
   
Lincoln stepped closer to her. “I tried to get to you as soon as I could. I followed your scent out of the Woods and into some backyard. By the time I caught up to you, you were already almost home. And the alpha was long gone.”  
   
“Believe it or not Lexa, we’re trying to protect you.” Echo told her.  
   
Lexa scoffed. “Why? Because my sister told you to.”  
   
“No.” Lincoln shook her head. “Because we’re not just a pack, we’re a family. And even though you may not like it or want it, we just want you to know that you’ve got a place with us. That you can trust us.”  
   
Lexa was at a loss for words. She was too overcome with a wave of familiarity. Something she only ever felt with her mother, sister, Raven and even Sinclair. Perhaps this is that mystical connection they were telling her about.   
   
“You should come by the house.” Lincoln offered. “Meet everyone. We can teach you what it means to be a werewolf. You can have Luna bring you when you’re ready.” He gently placed a hand on Lexa’s shoulder, gave it a light squeeze and dropped it. Looking over Lexa’s shoulder to Echo, Lincoln motioned with his head that they were leaving. Giving the young Beta one last smile and nod of his head, he turned and walked away, Echo walking past her and following behind him.   
   
Though the two were long gone, Lexa still stared after them. She mulled over what they had told her. Not only that, but what they made her feel while she was in their presence. It was a strong sense of trust and compassion. She never felt anything relating to that whenever she was near the alpha. She still wanted to talk to Luna. There was nobody she trusted more than her big sister, so whatever next step needed to be taken, they would take together. 

* * *

**Next Period – Lunch**  
   
Lexa couldn’t wait to tell Raven of her latest encounter with the two wolves from her new pack. Thankfully, their free period was scheduled right before lunch. The two brunettes did as they usually did; they got their lunch trays, got their food and met at their usual table. Like their seats in class, the table they frequently sat at was towards the back of the cafeteria right next to the windows. It was only ever the two of them that sat there. Every so often, they were joined by Monty, Harper, Monroe, Jasper  & Maya or some of Raven’s friends from Auto shop.   
   
Lexa found Raven already seated, focus trained on her notebook, writing notes on a schematic to rebuild a V8 engine. She quickly dodged through random students, careful not to spill the contents of her tray, and placed in on the table, in the seat across from her best friend and sat down.  
   
Raven snapped her head up and looked at her quizzically. She didn’t even get the chance to ask what was up before Lexa was telling her everything about the conversation she just had in the library.  
   
“So, they just cornered you in the library like some kind of psycho’s?” Raven asked, mad that she wasn’t there for her friend.  
   
“Yeah, basically. They said they wanted to ‘Welcome me to the pack’.”  
   
“That sounds ominous.”  
   
“Actually…” Lexa thought back on it, remembering what she had felt. “It seemed kinda genuine. They made it sound as though they actually wanted me to be in their pack. Like… they want to help me with this.”  
   
“And you believe them.”  
   
Lexa took a minute thinking about it, then nodded. “Yeah… I do. They told me about this ability that werewolves have when they’re in a pack. They called it a mystical connection; when one of them is feeling something, the rest can sort of feel it too.”   Raven was confused. “What, like emotional telepathy or something?”  
   
“Yeah, I guess.” Lexa shrugged. “They told me they could feel my fear this morning when I was being chased by the alpha. And while they were telling me that I could trust them… I just knew they were telling the truth.”  
   
“You could feel it.”  
   
“Yeah.”  
   
Raven let out a sigh, processing all the information. “Well, that’s good and all, but I think you should talk to Luna before you do anything.”  
   
“Believe me, I am.”  
   
They were interrupted by a voice coming from behind Lexa. “Is this seat taken?” Lexa followed Raven’s smirk riddled gaze over her shoulder and found Clarke standing there with her lunch tray, smiling down at Lexa. Quickly, the brunette grabbed her bag out of the seat next to her, throwing it on the ground on her other side, then pulling the now empty chair out for the blonde to sit. “Thanks.” Clarke said as she set her tray down and took a seat. “So, what are we talking about?”  
   
Lexa & Raven shared a look, trying to decide what lie to tell her. The two of them had a lot of practice coming up with the same lie based off a look. It was a skill developed over the years to believingly deceive their parents when they were up to no good.  
   
“Oh, um… We were just bouncing ideas off each other about what to make for family dinner.” Lexa finally said.  
   
“Family dinner?” Clarke asked.  
   
“Yeah. Once a week my mom & I have dinner with Raven & her dad.”  
   
“Since our other parent’s suck, we came up with a tradition to give us all some semblance of a typical nuclear family.” Raven added.  
   
Lexa chuckled at her candor. “Something like that.”  
   
“That’s actually really cool.” Clarke said sincerely, looking back at Lexa, the two holding their gaze with one another until it was interrupted by others joining their table.  
   
Having seen Clarke take a seat at Lexa & Raven’s table, Octavia made her way over to join her new friend and the others followed her actions, including her brother. As the Blake siblings and their posse took the empty seats all around their table, Lexa & Raven looked at each other with confusion, having a silent conversation with one another about what the hell was happening.  
   
“What’s really cool?” Octavia asked, overhearing Clarke’s words upon her approach.  
   
“Oh,” Clarke responded. “Raven and Lexa were telling me that their families get together once a week for dinner.”  
   
“Do you guys do everything together?” Gina asked from her end of the table.  
   
“No!” Raven & Lexa answered in unison, whipping their heads to where Gina sat. The action and their tone caused Clarke to laugh. Lexa found herself getting lost in the angelic sound.  
   
“Yo, Lexa.” Miller spoke from his seat next to Raven. “You really killed it a practice yesterday.”  
   
“Thanks, man.”  
   
“How’d you get that good?” Bellamy asked genuinely. “I mean, no offense but, last season you were a second-string benchwarmer and now you’re looking up to be first-line on varsity.”  
   
“I had my sister Luna train me this past summer.”  
   
“Well it shows. You may get to start in the scrimmage on Friday.”  
   
“Scrimmage?” Clarke questioned, looking to Lexa to answer.  
   
Octavia, however, chose to answer. “Every year at the end of the first week of school, the Varsity Lacrosse team has a scrimmage with TonDC High School.”  
   
“It’s a tune-up game.” Bellamy added. “TonDC is one of the worst teams so it’s an easy win. Gives us the opportunity to fine-tune our skills and work out the kinks.”  
   
“They’re always a lot of fun.” Came Octavia. “Everyone in the stands cheers their heads off and afterwards, we all meet up at the lake on the North edge of town for the End of Summer bonfire party.”  
   
“Wow. That sounds fun.”  
   
“It is. You should totally come Clarke!”  
   
Clarke took a glance back to Lexa, reading her expression before looking back to Octavia, an act that did not go unnoticed by Raven. “Yeah, I think I might.”

* * *

**Outside Locker Room – After Practice**  
   
To say it had been a long day was a massive understatement. But the second practice started, Lexa forgot about everything. She forgot that she was a werewolf, forgot that she had been bitten by an evil alpha, forgot that her sister had lied to her about being a werewolf, forgot that she was ambushed by her new packmates; she forgot about everything.  
   
Well, maybe not everything. There was no way she could forget about Clarke. Especially not when she stayed after to watch practice again. Today’s practice went pretty much like the first. Once Lexa found her footing, she went above and beyond. Her wolf instincts kicked in and made her the team superstar.  
   
But, when it was all over, and she retreated to the locker room to shower and change, she felt the weight of the entire day. It hit her with a wave of exhaustion that she knew she had to power through.  
   
Lexa walked out of the locker room with her lacrosse bag thrown over her shoulder. Stepping out into the hallway, she found Raven leaned up against the wall waiting for her.  
   
“Hey,” Her friend called to her noticing the movement in the once empty hallway. “Have a good practice?”  
   
“Grueling yet rewarding.” Lexa let out.  
   
“Rewarding how?”  
   
Lexa took a moment before responding, wanting to build suspense. Though the smile threatening to break through on her face made that difficult, so she caved. “…I’m… starting in the scrimmage on Friday.”  
   
“What?! That’s awesome!!!” Raven yelled, her voice echoing throughout the hallway.  
   
“Yeah, I can’t believe it.”  
   
“Oh my god. I can’t wait to see the look on your mom’s face when you tell her.”  
   
“Yeah.” Lexa could only imagine how her mother would react. She was always proud of her daughter, no matter what she accomplished. “Me either. Let’s get home.”  
   
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. I'm planning out chapters 7 & 8 right now. With any luck, I'll be able to finish those and have those up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.


	7. You're Making Me Blush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven gives Lexa a pep-talk at the grocery store; Clarke has dinner with her parents; Late night at work for Lexa becomes a great opportunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been writing like crazy lately so enjoy! I've got the next few chapters mapped out but I am going on a small vacay tomorrow. I will still be writing and will try and have the next chapter up soon. Let me know what you guys think.

**After Practice - Grocery Store**  

 

When the girls got to Lexa’s house, they were instantly met by Becca who was already on her way out to the grocery store to pick up some food for the house and everything she would need to cook this week’s family dinner. Since Luna is back home, she decided to cook her favorite. She had asked Lexa if she wanted to go with her to help with the shopping list. Lexa, always one to help her mom out in whatever way she could, agreed, leading to Raven tagging along.

Lexa & Raven were standing in the checkout line with a basket half full of food behind two other shoppers with full carts. It was one of those days where there were only two checkers open despite the fact that there were a good number of people in the store. Though, since Becca was still being held up at the meat department getting fresh cut steaks from the butcher, the long line actually helped them stall until she got back. Lexa looked to the lady standing behind them, checking her cart to see if she had less than they did so she could allow her to cut in front of them, but realized it didn’t even matter.

She did notice, however, that the lady had been stealing glances at her when she thought she wasn’t looking. It made Lexa a bit nervous, but before she could say anything to Raven, her friend had beat her to the punch.

"Okay… I’ve been biting my tongue since lunch, but there’s something I wanted to ask you and I couldn’t figure out how."

Lexa could only chuckle at the fact she seemed to have said all that without taking a breath. "Just ask me."

"Are you going to ask Clarke to the Bonfire?"

"What?!" Lexa felt her cheeks and ears blush as embarrassment flooded her system. "Wh- why, why would you ask me that?"

"Because I know you like her."

"I – I’m, I just-…" She let out a sigh, having nothing to say.

Raven threw her head back in exasperation at how awkward her best friend could be. "Lexa. I’ve been your best friend since the first grade. I can tell, better than anyone, when you’re crushing on someone and you’ve been crushing on Clarke since the second you met her."

"How do you know that?"

Donning her signature smirk, Raven began her sermon. "Well first off, your entire face turns an adorkable shade of pink when I even mention her name. Just like it did less than sixty seconds ago."

"I did not." Lexa replied defensively.

"You did, but that’s beside the point. I really think you should ask her."

Lexa mulled over her words and weighed their accuracy. "Okay… say I did have a crush on her, which I’m not admitting to you. What makes you think she would even want to go with me? I mean, she just moved here, I doubt she has even thought about dating. Plus, neither of us knows if she… bats for the other team. Thirdly, even if she does, I highly doubt that out of the entire student body, she would like me."

"See, that is the exact reason that you have me. It’s my duty as your best friend to be your unofficial wing-woman. It’s also my job to kick you in your ass when you start to get down on yourself, and help you see that a pretty girl does in fact like you."

Lexa smiled knowing Raven was always looking out for her. "Not everyone can be as confident as you, Reyes."

Raven scoffed. "Yeah, but I’m awesome." At that, Lexa gave her a light shove. When Raven shoved back, the two shared a laugh.

Lexa thought on it some more. "I don’t know, you really think I should ask her?"

"I think it wouldn’t hurt to try. And in the off chance that I’m wrong, which is more rare than a Halley’s Comet, then at the very least you guys could be friends. You need more of those anyway."

That caused Lexa to get defensive once again. "I have plenty of friends."

"Oh, please." Raven laughed. "Besides me, your mom and your sister, who do you have… really?"

"Monty, Harper, Jasper & Maya."

"Yeah, but they’re not around as much since they’ve all paired off. Speaking of which, if you and Clarke are going to be a thing and spending all your time together, I need to find me somebody."

"Aww… You know I would never leave you Rae." Lexa reached her hand out to put it on her friend’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze in a feigned show of affection.

"Shut up." Raven said, swatting her hand away. This turned into another one of their playful shoving matches. They were so caught up in messing with the other, that neither noticed Becca walk up and place the items she grabbed in the basket.

"I swear to god, do you two ever stop bickering?" She asked, checking the last item off of the list.

"We’re just playing, mom."

Becca ignored them. Instead, going through the items in the cart one last time to make sure that they hadn’t forgotten anything. "Okay, I think that’s everything we need."

Suddenly, the lady that had been standing behind them spoke up. "Becca."

Becca turned around hearing her name and smiled at the woman having not noticed her before. "Abby, hi. Doing some dinner shopping as well?" She asked, gesturing to her cart.

"Well, we finally got the house all set up and we’re all kind of over having take-out every night." With that being said, Abby looked past Becca to the two teenage girls she was with.

"Oh, sorry." Becca caught on. "Abby this is my youngest daughter Lexa & her friend Raven who is basically like my third daughter. Girls, this is Doctor Abby Griffin. She’s the new surgeon on staff."

"Griffin?" Raven asked. She knows she’s heard that name before.

"Griffin-Kane technically, but…" She looked towards Lexa as she spoke to both of them. "You might know my daughter Clarke. She’s a sophomore at the High School."

As soon as she heard those words, Raven fought every one of her facial muscles to suppress the smile that was clearly growing. "Interesting… isn’t that interesting, Lexa?"

For the second time that night, Lexa’s entire face blushed. It dawned on her that Abby had possibly heard the entire conversation she just had with Raven. "Uh…" she laughed nervously. "It’s uhmm- it’s nice to meet you Ab- Dr. Griff- Dr. Griffin-Kane."

"Please. Abby is just fine. And Lexa, about that bonfire… you should definitely ask Clarke to go."

Becca whipped her head at her daughter looking surprised as Lexa turned beet red yet again & Raven started laughing.

"Man, I love grocery shopping!" Raven said between laughs, wiping a gleeful tear off her cheek.

* * *

 

**Later – Nyko’s Vet Clinic**

After being thoroughly embarrassed at the grocery store in front of her potential crushes mom, Lexa had Raven drive her to work. She had gotten the job her freshman year, wanting to make things easier on her mom. Despite the fact that Becca had a full-time job and her father paid both alimony and child support, Lexa wanted to help as much as she could. She always felt guilty that she was the one to break up the family.

Lexa hurried inside the clinic, hearing the bell go off as she opened the front door. "So sorry I’m late. I had to help my mom."

Nyko, her boss, could only laugh as he glanced up at the clock. "Lexa… you’re all of thirty-seven seconds late. I hardly think that’s cause for concern. Plus, you might be the only teenager in this town that has a job." He looked back to his chart before a thought occurred to him. "Hey, how was practice?"

"Oh, it was great. I’m starting on Friday." Lexa told him with a smile.

"No way!" Aside from her mother, Nyko was always one of her biggest supporters. "I guess now I have reason to close shop up early like the rest of these yahoo’s and head to the game."

"You don’t have to do that Nyko."

He waved off her statement. "Nonsense. I’ve been dying to see you play."

"Well, I appreciate it."

"And I appreciate you closing up for me tonight." He said setting the chart back where it goes and grabbing his bag. "The animals need to be fed. And I need you to check the stitches on Mrs. Sampson’s Pug, see how their healing up and making sure there’s no infection."

"Will do." With those final words, Nyko left the clinic early, leaving it in the very capable hands of his young protégé.

* * *

 

**Griffin-Kane Residence**

It had been almost a week since Clarke and her family had officially made the move into Arkadia. A week of going through boxes upon boxes of stuff, deciding what to keep for the new house and what should be replaced. A week of unpacking and decorating here and there as they went since Clarke had to start school and her parents dove into work. After nearly one week of being ships passing in the night as they all went about their own schedules, Clarke and her mother were seated at the dining room table sharing a home cooked meal for the first time in their new home.

Marcus, Clarke’s stepfather, walked back into the room with his phone to his ear having excused himself several minutes ago to take the call. The girls overheard the tail-end of the conversation as he retook his seat at the head of the table.

"I’m so sorry ladies." Marcus apologized. "Something came up with work that I had to deal with."

"It’s alright sweetie." Abby said between bites.

"So, what were we talking about?"

"I was just asking Clarke how school was today."

Clarke finished chewing before giving her answer, nodding her head to show she had heard and was preparing to reply. "It was fine."

Marcus smiled at his step-daughter. "Eloquently put." He teased. "Knowing you, you’re making friends rather quickly."

"A few yeah." Clarke shrugged, picking up her water glass to sip. "They’re all kinda cool."

"Do you think you’ll go to the bonfire this Friday?" Abby asked nonchalantly, as though it was information she was meant to be privy too. This caused her daughter to choke on her water slightly.

"How do you know about that?" She asked after a short coughing fit.

"I ran into Becca Woods at the grocery store. Lexa was with her."

"You met Lexa?"

"I did. She’s a very sweet girl, Clarke."

"Who’s Lexa?" Marcus asked looking back and forth between his wife and daughter. He felt terribly out of the loop.

Abby gave a sly smile. "Clarke’s new crush."

"Oh well that’s nice."

Clarke got somewhat defensive. "I never said I had a crush on Lexa."

"You didn’t have to." Abby had caught on from the minute her daughter first spoke of the brunette that loaned her a pen in homeroom. Despite all the moving around and crazy schedule that comes with being a doctor, she still found the time to be in the know where her daughter was concerned. "If you want to go to the bonfire, you should."

Marcus found himself growing confused again. "What’s this bonfire?"

Clarke wiped her mouth on her tablecloth before answering. "After the first lacrosse game of the season, everyone gets together at the lake for a homecoming/ End of summer bonfire party. It’s like a kick-off party for the rest of the year."

"Oh." Marcus nodded, taking in the information. "Well your mother’s right. You should go."

Clarke just shrugged as she pushed her food around on her plate. "I’m still deciding if I want to or not."

"You mean you’re waiting for Lexa to ask you." Abby added.

"No." Clarke shook her head. "Maybe."

"Just be patient, Clarke. I have a feeling it’s all going to work out." Abby didn’t want to give away too much, but if the conversation she overheard earlier by a certain socially awkward brunette were anything to go by, Clarke had nothing to worry about.

* * *

 

**Later – Nyko’s Clinic**

Lexa’s shift was nearing its end so she chose to begin her closing procedures. After checking the stitches on Mrs. Sampson’s Pug Elvis and applying a gel to stave off an infection, she went to feed the cats in the back of the shop. Grabbing a bag of cat food and throwing it over her shoulder, she walked into the room that held the crates.

Suddenly, the felines began a chorus of cries and wails. Lexa looked around to each of them, wondering what the hell was triggering them to go so crazy. She grew spooked when several of them began to claw at the cage doors, biting at it violently and shaking the crates they were being kept in. As quick as she could, she backed out of the room and closed the door. Those cats were just going to have to go without for the night.

As things seemed to calm down, Lexa heard the bell over the front door jingle, indicating that someone had come in the front door. It then occurred to her that she forgot to lock it before heading towards the back.

Rounding the corner to the front counter, she spoke up, ready to tell whoever it was that they’d have to come back in the morning.

"Sorry, we’re actually clo-…" That was when she noticed the blonde standing in the lobby; and by the look on her face, she too had been noticed.

"Lexa?" Clarke asked perplexed. She became aware of the fact that the brunette was standing on the opposite side of the counter. "Wait, do you work here?"

"Yeah." Lexa began shyly, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck. "It’s not the most glamorous job, but it pays pretty well. I’ve been trying to help my mom out since she and my dad split up."

Clarke gave her a genuine smile. "See? There you are being sweet again."

Lexa blushed, finally noticing that Clarke was carrying a small puppy in her arms, hugging it close to her chest. "So, who’s this?" She asked, pointing to the Alaskan Klee Kai that let out a small whimper as if on cue.

"This is Bowie." Clarke glanced down at the puppy in her arms, giving him a small stroke on his fur to let him know it was okay. "I went to feed him a little while ago and noticed that he was limping really badly."

"Oh, no."

"Poor thing is so used to the city. He might have hurt himself in the woods behind our house."

"Well, why don’t we head on back and I can check him out?" Lexa opened the waist-level counter door for Clarke to walk through. Before she led her back, though, she grabbed the keys and locked the front door to the clinic so nobody else would come in with last-minute needs.

When they get to the main exam room, Clarke sets the dog down on the table and takes a seat in one of the chairs off to the side, not wanting to crowd Lexa in what she was going to do. Once the brunette got ready to begin the exam, she stepped closer to the table only to have Bowie bark and growl at her rather aggressively. Lexa heard Clarke stand up from her seat behind her.

"I’m sorry. He’s never like this." She said with much sympathy.

"It’s fine," Lexa assured her, "he’s just scared."

What happened next, Lexa would never be able to explain. Hell, she couldn’t understand it. She moved closer to the dog, staring him down as though she were communicating telepathically that she wasn’t there to hurt him. She wasn’t even aware of the fact that the exchange made her eyes glow as she looked the dog in his. Thankfully, Clarke was standing behind her, so all she saw was Bowie warming up to the other girl.

With that out of the way, Lexa surveyed his front leg, doing everything that Nyko had taught her. It took her a few minutes to be sure of the diagnosis. She wanted to make sure that she didn’t make any mistakes given who his owner was.

"So, it’s definitely a sprain." She said to Clarke as the blonde stood and approached the exam table to comfort her pup. "I can wrap it in a splint and give him something for the pain. I’ve seen Dr. Nyko do it a bunch of times. He’ll have to stay here for at least a night, so he can get checked again in the morning."

"That’s fine. Whatever it takes to make sure he’s okay."

Lexa went on to wrap his leg gently with the bandage roll her boss normally used and gave him a shot of pain medicine. Clarke stood close by calmly stroking behind his ear as she watched Lexa work with complete adoration in her eyes.

"You’re really good at this."

"I’ve been working here for a little over a year. I’ve learned a few things."

A comfortable silence fell on them for a few moments before Clarke brought herself to make conversation.

"Seems like everyone is talking about this game on Friday. Sounds like a big deal."

"In this town, varsity Lacrosse is a big deal."

"Does that mean the bonfire is too?" Clarke ventured, hoping that was a decent segue. "Is it usually as spectacular as everyone says it is?"

Lexa shrugged and sheepishly avoided eye contact. "I wouldn’t know. I don’t actually go to those kinds of things."

"Well, you gotta go to this one!" Clarke added playfully. "You’re like the star player of the varsity team. Isn’t it almost customary."

"I’m hardly the star player."

"We’ll just have to see about that, then won’t we?" They shared a smile as Lexa finished with her treatment for Bowie. She carefully scooped him up and led Clarke to the room where he would stay in overnight, setting him down on the dog bed to get some sleep. "I should get home." Clarke said as they stood in the clinics hallway awkwardly. "Goodnight, Lexa."

"Goodnight, Clarke." Lexa watched the blonde walk down the hallway and disappear out to the lobby, hearing the bell chime yet again, signifying her exit. She mentally cursed herself for being so lame. There was the perfect opportunity to ask Clarke to the bonfire and she squandered each one. Lexa could hear Raven’s voice in her head screaming at her, _‘Go after her you moron!’_.

So, that’s what she did. Jogging down the hall, out to the lobby and out the front door, grabbing the keys on the way to not lock herself out, Lexa called out to Clarke as she was getting into her car.

"Hey, Clarke?" Hearing her name, Clarke stopped, standing behind her open car door looking up at a very nervous Lexa who stood a few feet away, too scared to move any closer. "About that bonfire on Friday… do you think you might want to go?... with me?"

Clarke eyed the obviously nervous brunette and subconsciously bit her bottom lip to try and hold back her smile. Even in the darkness of the night, Lexa thought she saw a blush don the pale cheeks of the blond before her." Yeah, actually. I really would."

Lexa let out a breath and nodded her head. "Cool." She said, for lack of anything else to say. "That’s… cool."

"Yeah." Clarke replied. "So. I’ll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow."

Lexa watched as she got back into her car and drove off, smiling like an idiot the whole time. She went back inside to grab her jacket and turn off the lights and locked up the clinic. She was on cloud nine, having just asked out the most gorgeous girl in town. Raven’s voice sounded in her head again, _‘Way to go loser!’_ Lexa wondered to herself when & why her subconscious voice became that of her best friend’s but she decided to put that off until later. She couldn’t bring herself to care at the present moment, she was too busy basking in the moment.

A noise brought her back to reality. Some rustling a few feet away. Lexa had hoped to write it off as a street cat in the alley scrounging for food, but lately her luck had not been that great. She froze, hoping whatever it was would pass. It didn’t. That’s when she heard it. The low, deep growl she’s only ever heard twice before. Each one a precursor to an event that filled her with panic.

"Not again." Lexa muttered under her breath before she took off running, yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. The next chapter might be a bit short, but after that one there are more Clexa moments so stay tuned for that. Find me on tumblr and let me know what you think.


	8. Running With Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa is in for one wild night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late. My only excuse is that I got a second job. But I ignored my work today to finish this chapter and get it out to you tonight. I apologize for any mistakes, I was going kinda fast and didn't have time to edit.

_"Hey, Clarke?" Hearing her name, Clarke stopped, standing behind her open car door looking up at a very nervous Lexa who stood a few feet away, too scared to move any closer. "About that bonfire on Friday… do you think you might want to go?... with me?"_  
  
 _Clarke eyed the obviously nervous brunette and subconsciously bit her bottom lip to try and hold back her smile. Even in the darkness of the night, Lexa thought she saw a blush don the pale cheeks of the blond before her." Yeah, actually. I really would."_  
  
 _Lexa let out a breath and nodded her head. "Cool." She said, for lack of anything else to say. "That’s… cool."_  
  
 _"Yeah." Clarke replied. "So. I’ll see you tomorrow?"_  
  
 _"Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow."_  
  
 _Lexa watched as she got back into her car and drove off, smiling like an idiot the whole time. She went back inside to grab her jacket and turn off the lights and locked up the clinic. She was on cloud nine, having just asked out the most gorgeous girl in town. Raven’s voice sounded in her head again, ‘Way to go loser!’ Lexa wondered to herself when & why her subconscious voice became that of her best friend’s but she decided to put that off until later. She couldn’t bring herself to care at the present moment, she was too busy basking in the moment. _  
  
_A noise brought her back to reality. Some rustling a few feet away. Lexa had hoped to write it off as a street cat in the alley scrounging for food, but lately her luck had not been that great. She froze, hoping whatever it was would pass. It didn’t. That’s when she heard it. The low, deep growl she’s only ever heard twice before. Each one a precursor to an event that filled her with panic._  
  
 _"Not again." Lexa muttered under her breath before she took off running, yet again._   
 

* * *

Lexa’s feet carried her as fast as they could down the block. Cutting through every street and alleyway she could. her aim was to come up by the hospital, thinking the alpha wouldn’t continue his pursuit in the public eye. Her efforts, however, were in vain. In practically the blink of an eye, Lexa felt the forceful impact of being tackled. Before she could regain her footing, a strong hand wrapped itself around her ankle and dragged her into the woods.    
   
Her heart pounded in her chest. She could feel the ground beneath her change from the asphalt of the road to the cold dirt of the forest floor. Reaching out her hands, she tried to grab onto something, provide leverage to help her get a leg up on him but all she could grasp were twigs and small rocks. Nothing to help her out of the situation she found herself in.   
   
At first, she felt fear. Fear that her life was in mortal danger and there was no way out. Next, she felt helpless. It brought her back to that day years ago when her father had tried to throw her out of the house and she was packing her bags trying to figure out where she could go. Lexa hated feeling helpless. It went against everything in her nature.    
   
She was starting to get sick and tired of being seen as a target, someone to victimize and pick on. It made her angry, angrier than she had ever remembered being. The blood in her veins began to boil, every muscle in her body felt like it was set on fire.   
   
Lexa could barely tell what was happening until she was overcome with a sudden impulse to act. With her free foot, she kicked her attackers arm, causing him to release her. Once she was free from his grasp, she used her legs to shoot herself up onto her feet. In one swift motion, Lexa threw all her momentum behind her right arm, swinging her fist toward him. Before her punch could land, however, he dodged it, grabbing her wrist and using his free hand to strike her cheek.   
   
Lexa was still reeling from the punch to her face to register him pull her by her right arm and toss her like a rag doll down a nearby hill. As Lexa rolled down, she saw him jump from the top and land just before her at the bottom where she ended up like it was nothing.   
   
She looked up and saw him towering over her, his entire form cast in the shadows of the night. Taking that moment to gauge him, Lexa noticed that he looked different. Smaller somehow. It wasn’t as though the wolf before her wasn’t big by any means, he was, but she remembered the first night he attacked her & he was significantly larger.   
   
He let out another deep growl, shifting her focus back to her current predicament. _‘This was it’_ she thought, he was more than likely going to kill her. All Lexa could think about in that moment was that she was going to die before she could ever have that date with Clarke.   
   
That’s when he did the last thing she ever expected him to do. He laughed, actually full on belly laughed. Lexa furrowed her brows in utter confusion as he stepped closer to her, stepping into the light of the moon revealing himself.   
   
“Looks like we’ll make a fighter out of you, after all.”   
   
Lexa squinted her eyes to see in the dark. “…Lincoln?... What the hell is going on?”   
   
“Well, we all wanted to officially induct you to the pack.”   
   
For the second time in as many minutes, Lexa became confused. “We?” she asked.   
   
Suddenly, she sees several pairs of glowing eyes, both yellow & blue, surround them both. Then they all step closer, the moonlight illuminating their faces to reveal their identities. Some of them she recognizes as having gone to school with either her or Luna. Some she had seen around town, but there was a couple that she had never seen before. She had noticed that the guys were all shirtless, and the girls were all wearing tank tops.    
   
“Are you guys insane?!” Lexa yells, swiveling her neck around to make sure they all knew she was speaking directly to every last one of them. “You scared the shit out of me!”   
   
“Good.” Came Luna, stepping forward to stand beside Lincoln, staring down at her baby sister. “That was the point.”   
   
Lexa rolled her eyes seeing her sister step forward. “Jesus Christ, Luna. Why can’t we ever have regular conversations anymore?” “I’m sorry kid, but that is the best way to get you to turn.”   
   
“By scaring me half to death?”   
   
“I know it sucks,” Luna began, hoping her baby sister would hear reason, “but the fear kick-started your adrenaline, which activated you fight-or-flight response. That coupled with you getting angry caused you to have a more controlled turn.”   
   
Lexa just nodded to herself. “You were testing me.” She both asked and stated at the same time.   
   
Lincoln took another step forward. “We were showing you.”   
   
“We were teaching you.” Luna corrected. “And this is how we will be teaching you from now on. All of us, together.”   
   
Lexa took a deep breath and stood up, dusting all the dirt, leaves and twigs that were sticking to the backside of her clothes from being dragged on the ground by Lincoln.   
   
“You already know Lincoln & Echo.” Luna motioned to the woman on her left with the insanely high cheekbones. “This is Lincoln’s cousin Anya. And behind you are Roan, Niylah, Tristan & Quint.”   
   
Lexa looked around at the others, giving them all a small nod of acknowledgement. She took note of the look she was getting from the bald-headed one, Quint. Already he seemed like this was the last place he wanted to be right now.   
   
“So…” Lexa look back at her sister skeptically. “What happens now?”   
   
As if on que, they all exchange glances, sharing a devilish smile as if they know something she doesn’t.   
   
Anya let out a small chuckle and looks to her newest packmate. “Now… you get to go on your first wolf run.”   
   
Lexa’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.” ‘Wolf run’? What is that?”   
   
“You’ll see.” Luna told her. “But first, you need to turn again.”   
   
“I..I don’t really know how to just do it on command. The two times I’ve ever done it, I didn’t even really realize it.”   
   
Luna stepped up to her, placing her hands on her sisters shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “You can do it, Lex. You just need to practice. You need to feel it.”   
   
Lexa nodded. “Okay…how?” She asked with a bit more confidence in her voice.   
   
“Close your eyes.” As Lexa does as she’s told, Luna drops her hands and begins to circle around the younger girl in an attempt to help put her at ease. “Remember the first time you turned, out here with   
me. You were angry and scared. Just like you were tonight. But it was more than that, you let go. You got out of your own way and let out a part of you that you’re actively trying to keep at bay. So just let it out again.”   
   
“Okay…” Lexa stood completely still, recalling the last few days, trying to trick her mind into recreating the feelings that flooded her every time she ‘wolfed out.’ Sadly, her attempts yielded no results. “It’s not working.” She said, opening her eyes.   
   
“That’s because you’re still scared.”   
   
Lexa shook her head defensively. “I’m not scared anymore.”   
   
“Not that kind of scared. You’re afraid of what will happen so you’re holding back. Try again.” Once again, Lexa complied. “Now… Dig deep, and feel that piece of you, that almost animalistic side that desperately wants to get out. I know it’s scary to think about what you’ll do if you let it control you. That’s why you need to be in control. Once you push past it, it’ll feel almost natural.”   
   
Lexa listened to what her sister was telling her. It was true, she could feel the wolf inside of her and its ache to manifest. As fearful as she was, she decided to give in and slowly relinquished herself to it. This time, it felt different to all the others. It wasn’t being driven by fear or anger, it was calm, cool and collected. She felt some of the muscles in her body contort and shift. When she no longer felt herself changing, she slowly opened her eyes and looked to her sister who was smiling back at her fondly.   
   
“How do you feel?” Luna asked.   
   
Lexa looked down at her hands, seeing her nails had turned into razor-sharp claws. She curled her fingers inward, making fists with both hands and smiled. “I feel strong.”   
   
Luna nodded, remembering the first time she experienced what her little sister was now feeling. “Now you’re ready for your run.”   
   
Lexa looked around at the rest of her pack, and watched as one by one, everyone else turns as well.   
   
“You ready?” Luna asked. That’s when Niylah, Roan & Tristan all took off running.   
   
Echo then started to run past Lexa, giving her a cocky smirk. “Let’s see what you got.” She said, then picked up the pace and followed the other three.   
   
Lexa shared a look with Luna, Lincoln & Anya before they all take off running after the rest of them.   
 

* * *

   
Lexa had come to learn something tonight. There was no greater feeling than running through the woods in the middle of the night, surrounded by your pack. It was in those moments that she forgot about everything else. She forgot about school, lacrosse, work and her issues with her father. All of that just disappeared. Out here, there was no pressure, no stress, no fears, no troubles. She felt free and it was incredible.   
   
She had no idea how long they had been running, or where they were going; if they even had a destination or were running just to run. But it was amazing regardless. After several miles, they started getting playful. They would push and shove, claw at each other as if they were playing a game of tag.   
   
Things started to naturally slow down as the wolves were laughing too hard to focus on running through the trees safely. They stopped just in time for Roan to tackle Quint to the ground, the two of them literally rolling on the floor laughing.    
   
“Damn.” Tristan came to a stop by Lexa, almost out of breath. “I knew fresh betas were fast, but I’ve never seen a wolf run like that.”   
   
Lexa was still feeling the effects of her ‘runners high’ to register the compliment. “Holy shit, that was incredible! Seriously, guys that was amazing!”   
   
“Sounds like someone enjoyed themselves.” Came Anya with a slight chuckle as she walked past Lexa to stand next to Niylah & Echo.    
   
“God, I’ve never felt anything like that before!” Lexa continued getting more amped up. “Is it like that all the time? It’s like I had all kinds of power and energy. I felt so free!”   
   
Lincoln’s smile was just as big as Lexa’s at this point. Well you sure gave Echo a run for her money. Looks like you’re not the fastest anymore E!”   
   
“Whatever.” Echo called back. Her tone was bitter but she was laughing along with him. “I give it a week before she’s back with the rest of you eating my dust.”   
   
Luna waved them all off and walked up to her sister. “Enjoy yourself?” She asked her, already knowing the answer.   
   
Lexa just looked back at her like it was the most ridiculous thing she could have ever said. “Can we go again?” That caused Luna to laugh as well. Just as she was about to see if the pack was up for another round, a ruffling noise in the distance caught all their attentions.   
   
Everyone turned toward where the noise had come from. They had all since reverted back to their normal selves, so in order for them to see through the darkness, they triggered their wolf vision, causing their eyes to glow. That’s when they heard a faint clicking sound and just seconds late, an arrow struck Tristan in his shoulder. The pain caused him to throw his head back, fangs exposed and let out a loud howl. He stumbled backwards, clutching the wound, breaking the arrow off and tossing it aside.   
   
Lincoln called out as loud as he could so his pack could hear. “Hunters!!!”   
   
Before she knew what was happening, Lexa felt Luna grab her arm and lead her in the direction that everyone else was running. Like they had before, they all allowed their wolf nature to take over and took off deeper into the woods. Lexa was towards the back of the group so she could follow as they all knew the area better than she and knew where they were going. Being last, however, made her vulnerable. Another click was heard then an arrow was embedded into the tree right next to her, it’s impact igniting a bright flash of light along with a deafening blast.   
   
Lexa was disoriented. Her vision became blurred and doubled and there was a high-pitched ringing in her ears that made everything sound muffled. As she tried to snap out of it and get her bearings, another arrow came her way, this time hitting her in her leg, sending her to the ground with a yelp at the pain.   
   
Her leg was in some of the worst pain imaginable. She tried to stand and run on it anyway, but any attempt was met with her being reacquainted with the cold, hard ground. The sound of footsteps approaching made her look up, seeing a group of five men slowly walking towards her two of them were carrying cross-bows while the rest had an assortment of firearms.   
   
When they were a few feet away from her, they stopped, keeping their distance but had their weapons aimed at her. All but the leader, who stepped into the light. Lexa committed that face to memory, right down to his long dark hair and his black & grey beard. She could smell faint traces of the body wash and cologne combo he most likely used that morning that had since faded off throughout the day.   
   
Before he could get too close, one of his men hit the ground with a heavy thud and screamed. All of the hunters turned towards the sound, forgetting briefly about the beta they had surrounded. Lincoln and Luna had heard Lexa’s cry and doubled back to help her. While Lincoln went after one of the hunters, causing a distraction, Luna quietly came up behind Lexa and pulled the arrow out of her leg. Grabbing the back of her neck, Luna hoisted her sister up onto her feet and pushed her into the direction she had just come from.    
   
Lexa was limping the first few miles, the pain in her leg fading with every step. It finally went away when the passed through the tree line and came upon the back of a large estate. Lexa looked up at it, having never seen it before. Hell, she didn’t even know there were any houses this far off from the interstate. Luna led her to the gate and opened it up ushering her through. She hesitated at first, but then Lincoln came up behind her having caught up with them at some point. He gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder and walked ahead through the gate and up to the house.   
   
Luna gave her an apologetic look as she passed her and followed Lincoln through the backyard and into the house. They all make their way to the den where almost everyone else was waiting for them. Anya looks up from examining Tristan’s wound and relief washed over her face seeing that her cousin was alright. She turned her attention back to her injured friend and gave him a warning before she yanked out the rest of the arrow from his bloody shoulder. He screamed at the pain, yelling curse words along with it then calmed down.   
   
Quint and Roan chose that moment to walk into the room, announcing that they checked the area twice and saw no signs that they had been followed. An eerie silence fell over the room. Nobody was prepared for that kind of run-in tonight.   
   
“Who they hell were they?” Lexa asked quietly, breaking the silence and causing everyone to look at her.   
   
“Hunters.” Luna reluctantly spoke up. She thought she would have more time to teach her all the dangers of being what they were and introduce it to her gradually.   
   
“Hunters?” Lexa remembered Lincoln screaming that during all the chaos.   
   
“Were-wolf hunters.” He elaborated for her. “They’ve been hunting our kind for centuries.”   
   
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lexa looked back to her guilt-ridden sister.   
   
“I was going to.” Based off the look she was getting from the younger girl, Luna could tell that she didn’t believe her. “I _was_. Really. But I wanted to wait until later, I didn’t want to scare you by telling you too much too soon. I was trying to protect you.”   
   
Lexa let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head as she recalled the events of the last few hours. “Well thank you… so much for waiting to tell me after I had a gun aimed at my head and an arrow in my leg. Thank you so, very much!”   
   
In three long and quick strides, Luna was standing before her baby sister, hands on her shoulders and spoke calmly. “Hey. It’s going to be okay, alright? You were turned, so they never actually saw your face. I swear to you, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”   
   
Green, watery eyes stared straight into brown pleading ones. “Y’know, you’ve been making a lot of promises lately. How can you possibly keep all of them?” Lexa took a few steps back, stepping out of her sisters reach. She turned toward what she hoped was the front door.   
   
“Lexa, wai-“   
   
“No.” Lexa stopped in her tracks, turning slightly to address her sister. “No, I just want to be alone.” Turning back to the hallway leading to the door, she left without another word. 

* * *

   
Lexa was about two miles into her trek home when she realized she had no idea where she was. For the first time in several long hours, she reached into her back pocket and took out her phone, amazed that it had remained intact throughout the course of the madness that transpired. She had a few missed texts from her mom and Raven, even some random messages from Monty & Maya.    
   
She was definitely not in the frame of mind to be a typical teenager at the moment, so she ignored all of them and hit the call button next to Raven’s name. Her best friend answered after two rings with some quip Lexa didn’t even pay attention to. All she said was, ‘Rae, I need you’ and the Latina went right into serious mode. Lexa didn’t know where she was, but Raven was able to track her phone and promised to be there in ten minutes.   
   
Nearly nine minutes later, Lexa could hear the tell-tale roar of the truck coming down the road and pull over right in front of her. She got in the passenger side without a word. Reading the look on her face, Raven knew she needed time before she would open up. They continued down the road in relative silence. The car drove past the Vet Clinic when Lexa finally said, “I’m scared, Rae.”   
   
Raven just nodded to herself, eyes on the road. “I know.” She said softly, hoping her friend would be okay.   
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think.


	9. Day Full Of Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, loss of control & another encounter with a hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no excuse you guys. Sorry that this is so late, but hope you enjoy. This chapter is a bit longer to make up for it.

When Raven dropped Lexa off at home, they sat in the driveway for half an hour as Lexa recounted to her best friend every detail of what transpired earlier that night that led to the desperate phone call. The Latina didn’t exactly have anything in the way of advice, though it was fine since she knew that Lexa just needed someone to listen. After she had told her everything, Lexa felt the exhaustion of the night catch up to her and flood her entire body. Raven had urged her to head inside and get some rest, saying that they’d figure it out in the morning.

Lexa barely had enough energy to take a quick shower and change begore she hit the sheets with a thud. Right as she was on the cusp of drifting off, she heard the front door open and close. Somehow knowing that it was her sister, Lexa didn’t move, just closed her eyes and pretended she was already sleep. Luna’s footsteps reached her ears from throughout the house, allowing Lexa to track her movements as the older girl climbed the stairs and continue down the hallway, stopping at the open doorway of her room. Lexa could feel her presence, could feel her eyes boring into her as she lay there.

Luna stood in the doorway, watching over her sister for a few more moments before closing the door and heading down the hall to her room. It was then that Lexa finally allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful slumber. However, her sleep was anything but peaceful. It may have started out that way, but just like earlier in the night, things took a serious turn.

_Lexa found herself back in the woods, running faster than she had ever known herself to be. The moon above illuminated her path as she weaved through the trees and leapt over boulders. She could feel the cool fresh air on her face and invade her lungs, making her more at peace with each stride. For the first time since the night she was bitten, Lexa had given herself over to the wolf within and let go. She gave in to her urges and allowed her more primal self to take over, and once she did, she felt the power course through her._

__Running through the woods on a cool summer night felt liberating. All the worries that normally flooded her mind and added to her anxiety cleared away, leaving nothing but serenity in its wake. Focusing on the path before her, Lexa could see she was fast approaching a break in the ground before her. The gap looked to be about 15 feet across, giving way to the river a hundred feet below.__

___Lexa knew she was going too fast to stop safely, causing her to fall from the cliff. Any other time, she would be scared, but tonight, it felt like a challenge. So, she ran faster. As she approached the cliffs edge, her instinct took the helm and she jumped. As she hurdled through the air over the chasm, she felt like she was flying. In one swift move, she landed softly on her feet, tucked her head and rolled over her shoulder and settled on all fours._ _ _

  _Looking back at the break, Lexa smiled, impressed with herself and what she had just accomplished. She chuckled to her herself out of pure giddiness and before she knew what she was doing, she let out a loud roar, releasing elation out into the night. That’s when she felt a hit to her chest, like someone punched her in the sternum with a gauntlet. Lexa looked down and saw an arrow sticking out of her chest and blood started to spill from around the wound down her stomach. She glanced up and her eyes met that of the same hunter that held her at gunpoint earlier._

__Neither spoke, they just continued to stare one another down as the hunter held a crossbow aimed in her direction. Lexa began to take a slow step forward, only to have the hunter shoot two more arrows into her. The force of the final one sent her stumbling back, falling over the cliffs edge and down towards the rocky bottom of the river below._ _

__Lexa shot up in bed, gasping for air. Her hand subconsciously reached up to her chest, feeling relief to find that it was free of arrows. Once her lungs began functioning normally again, she laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. Thankfully this time, the nightmares were kept to a minimum._ _

* * *

 

Becca slowly opened the door to her youngest daughters’ room and quietly made her way over to the side of the bed. She smiled at the sight of Lexa buried beneath the blankets and pillows, her wild chestnut curls strewn all about. Becca stood over her daughter, listening to her soft, quiet snores, a telltale sign that she was in a deep sleep, worn out from exhaustion.  
   
Reaching her hand out, Becca softly shook Lexa’s shoulder, not wanting to scare her awake. She had tried that once before as a joke a few years back, but that resulted in Lexa flying off the bed and getting a bruised backside.  
   
“Hey, Lex.” Becca spoke quietly, shaking her daughters’ shoulder, though she got no response. “C’mon kiddo, it’s time to get up.” At that, Lexa let out a groan and shifted a little, allowing her face to come into view. Becca held in her laugh as Lexa’s eyes slowly crept open and met her mother’s.  
   
Lexa looked up at her mother with the saddest face. “Ten more minutes, mommy?” She said in her best baby voice, letting out a pout for extra effect.  
   
Becca sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over onto her youngest. “Aww...” she let out sympathetically, moving a few strands of Lexa’s hair out of her face and stroking her cheek lovingly. “Nice try you little shit.” Becca said with a smile causing both to laugh. Becca wasn’t a naïve mom. She knew all of her daughter’s tricks, but that didn’t stop Lexa from trying. “C’mon, get up.” Becca grabbed hold of Lexa’s hands and with a groan, pulled her up to have her sit up in bed. “So… I wanted to tell you that I rearranged some things. So, I work a double shift tonight, that way I have tomorrow off & I can make it to your big game.”  
   
Lexa rolled her eyes. “It’s hardly a big game. But Mom, seriously, you don’t need to run yourself ragged just to watch me play in a scrimmage game.”  
   
“Excuse the hell outta you…” Becca said feigning offense by bringing her hand up to her chest. “I’m anything but ragged. I think I look pretty damn good for my age.”  
   
Lexa, deciding to be a smart-ass, gave her mother a playful smirk as she asked, “Which is…?”  
   
Becca narrowed her eyes, accepting the challenge. “The exact right age I need to be to qualify to be a MILF.”  
   
That was the last thing she was expecting her to say. “Oh my god!!!” Lexa screamed, grabbing one of her pillows to cover her face, throwing herself back onto the bed, to which Becca just laughed. “I can never unhear that!!!”  
   
 “Aww… what’s the matter Lexy-roo? Are you embarrassed to have a hot mama?” She tried to pull the pillow off her daughter’s face, but the younger girls grip was not letting up.  
   
Lexa lowered the pillow and met her mother’s eye. “I’d like to be put up for adoption, now, please.” She said in all seriousness.  
   
“Nah…” Becca shrugged, “we tried that when you were a baby, but the family gave you back…they wanted a puppy instead.”  
   
“Oh, you’re so funny.” Lexa deadpanned. With the joking over, she took a deep breath before preparing to reluctantly ask her next question. “Hey, do you think I could borrow the car after the game tomorrow?”  
   
“What for?”  
   
Lexa propped herself up on one of her elbows, looking down at her sheet and toying with a loose thread to avoid eye contact. “There’s this bonfire at the lake… and I’m kinda… going with someone.”    Becca looked taken aback. “Hold on, let me make sure I got this right. Not only is my shy, somewhat socially awkward daughter going to a party, but… she has a date?”  
   
“Okay, I don’t want to talk about this.” Lexa said getting embarrassed. Throwing the covers off of her, she hopped out of bed and opened the door to her bathroom to get ready for a shower.  
   
Becca took that as her cue to leave. “Don’t think I’m going to forget about this anytime soon.” She said standing up from the bed.  
   
“You’re the worst.” She said as she turned back toward her mother in the doorway to the bathroom.  
   
“I love you too baby.” Giving her youngest a kiss on the forehead, Becca made her way back out towards the hallway. “Have a good day at school, I’ll see you later.” She called to her, closing her bedroom door on her way out.  
   
Lexa took a quick shower mainly to wake herself up since she had already taken one the night before. After that, it didn’t take her too long to get dressed and ready for school. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and headed downstairs. Once she got to the last few steps, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Luna was at the bottom waiting for her. Lexa stopped at the last step and the two just stood there, a tense silence hanging in the air between them.   
   
“You alright?” Luna asked, deciding to speak first.  
   
Lexa nodded. “Yeah. My leg’s all healed up, so…”  
   
“Uh… I told Raven that I was taking you to school today.” Again, all Lexa could do was nod at that information. “So… you ready to go?”  
   
“Yeah.” 

* * *

  
If the atmosphere at the house was tense, then the silence in the confines of Luna’s car was downright nerve-wracking. Lexa had no clue what she was supposed to say if anything at all. It was obvious that Luna had something she wanted to talk about but was too wrapped up in her own mind trying to decide how to get started. They were almost halfway to the school by the time she finally spoke up.  
   
“I wanted to apologize about what happened last night.” She began with a shaky breath. “I swear to you, I was going to tell you about the hunters. I was going to tell you about everything you needed to know at one point, but first… I wanted to show you that there could be some good to come out of all this. Becoming what we are is… terrifying just by itself, but you were bitten and turned against your will. You didn’t ask for this they way I did. And ever since that night, I know how scared you’ve been, with good reason. I don’t know why all of this is happening right now, but I’m going to keep you as far away from it as I can. I made you a promise that everything was going to be alright, and I have every intention on keeping it.”  
   
Lexa didn’t respond right away. She waited, taking in everything her sister had said. It was true that this whole ordeal had her in a perpetual state of terror, and last night with the hunters didn’t do much to help ease that. She believed Luna when she said she wanted to protect her and keep her safe, but given everything that’s been happening, it didn’t seem likely.  
   
“I don’t think that’s a promise you can keep.” Lexa took a quick glance to her sister and took a deep breath before continuing. “Clearly this alpha has an agenda of some sort and he turned me, to help him carry it out. So, whether we like it or not, I’m in this. And if you want to keep me safe like you say you do, the best way to do that is to help me get ready to fight alongside you and the rest of the pack.”  
   
“Lex-”  
   
“Luna… I already told you. I’m done sitting on the sidelines.” The sisters shared a look, recalling the beginning of the summer when Lexa went up to TonDC to visit Luna for a weekend. It was during that trip that Lexa told her older sister that she wanted to make a change for the upcoming school year, starting with Lacrosse.  
   
Luna was eager to help train her and sharpen her skills on the field, but on this she was reluctant. She didn’t want Lexa anywhere near this world, she never even wanted her to know about it. Though as much as she hated to admit it, her younger sister was right.  
   
“Okay…alright.” Luna gave in, nodding as she looked back to the road. “Then the pack and I will start training you. This weekend.”  
   
Luna pulls her car up out front of the school. The two shared a look, coming to a silent understanding in that moment. With a final nod of acceptance, Lexa opened the door to get out.  
   
“Just try not to worry too much.” Luna called out of the open window.  
   
Lexa turned back and shrugged. “It’s a little late for that.” She said, then disappeared into the sea of students heading onto campus. 

* * *

  
Lexa walked the halls of the school on auto-pilot. No active area in her brain registered the trek she made to her locker, the entering of the combination into the lock or opening the door. As she put her  
books away, she went over the events of the night before and recalled the conversation she had with her sister less than five minutes ago. When she went to Luna at the beginning of the summer with a plan and desire to pursue a more memorable high school experience, she was thinking more time on the field and maybe making a few more friends. Becoming a werewolf and suddenly having to navigate through all the forces that seemingly want her dead, wasn’t even in the realm of possibility to her.  
   
Having her mind so wrapped up in the harsh new reality that was her life, Lexa was surprised that it all seemed to float away in less than a second when the near angelic voice found her ears and the presence of a gorgeous blonde was felt next to her.   
   
“Morning.” Clarke greeted cheerfully as she leaned up against the lockers right next to Lexa’s.  
   
It was amazing how quickly anxiety could turn to bliss when green eyes met blue, but Lexa wouldn’t trade that fluttering she felt in her stomach at the sound of her voice for anything in the world at this moment. “Hey.” She said, matching Clarke’s infectious smile. “How was the rest of your night?”  
   
“It was okay.” Clarke shrugged. “I kinda missed Bowie. He usually sleeps on my bed.”  
   
“Well I texted my boss Nyko this morning to reexamine him when he gets to work. He’ll take good care of him, I promise.”  
   
Clarke bit her bottom lip in an effort to reign in the smile her lips threatened to expose. “I can’t thank you enough for all your help.” Lexa could only blush in response. “So, everywhere I go all anyone can talk about is this game tomorrow, and how epic the after party is going to be.”  
   
“Yeah, I know.” Lexa brought her hand up to rub the back of her neck. “To be honest, I don’t know what’s making me more nervous; starting in the first game of the season or going to this party that seems almost legendary.”  
   
“Well, hopefully not so nervous that you’d…. wanna cancel our plans…?” Clarke ventured to gauge the brunette’s headspace while simultaneously trying to hide her disappointment at the prospect of calling off something she’s been looking forward to.  
   
“No!” Lexa blurted out, a bit more loudly than she meant to. She even managed to somewhat startle Clarke. “I mean, no. I definitely don’t want to cancel. I just- I… I’m a little…” Lexa realized she was rambling and silently cursed herself before taking a deep breath. “I’m good. And no, I don’t want to cancel. I just need to… calm my nerves. About the game.”  
   
Lexa closed the door to her locker and the two girls began a slow walk to their homeroom class. Walking side-by-side, they each felt themselves blush when their arms would softly brush up against each other’s.  
   
“So, is this going to be the first game you’ve ever played in?” Clarke asked curiously.  
   
“No. But it is going to be the first game that I’m starting in. It’s like all of a sudden, I’ve got all these eyes on me, expecting me to be just like my sister was and it’s all kinda… daunting.”  
   
“I can only imagine.” Clarke offered kindheartedly. “But… I have seen you at practice a few times which means I’ve seen how incredibly talented you are. Though I know that doesn’t exactly mean much coming from me, since I don’t know the first thing about Lacrosse.”  
   
“It uhm… It means a lot, actually.”   
   
Clarke chanced a glance at Lexa and bit back a grin when she noticed the brunette was blushing, staring down at her feet shyly.  
   
“So.” The blonde began as the two got closer to approaching Mr. Vie’s classroom. “Are you working tonight? Do you think I could stop by and check on Bowie?”  
   
“Yeah, I have a short shift after practice tonight.” Lexa answered. “And I’m sure Bowie would love to get a visit from his mommy. Depending on Nyko’s examination, he might even get to go home tonight.”  
   
When they arrived to Mr. Vie’s classroom, Lexa motioned for Clarke to enter first, impressing the blonde with her chivalry. They both exchanged a smile in greeting with their teacher and headed towards their seats in the back of the class.  
   
“That would be amazing! I really miss my little guy.” Clarke and Lexa each took their seats, setting their bags down and grabbing their notebooks. “I guess I’ll see you tonight, then.”  
   
“Yeah.” Lexa said happily. “I guess you will.”  
   
Lexa turned back in her seat facing the front of the class. That’s when her attention was drawn to the door as Raven walked in with Monty right behind her. They were finishing up a conversation of their own when Raven caught Lexa’s stare and held it as she made her way to her seat, passing her best friend along the way. Lexa subtly glanced back to Raven who looked at her with a hint of concern, silently mouthing the question; ‘You okay?’  
   
Lexa gave her a faint nod, letting her know that she was going to be alright and that they would talk more about everything that happened the night before later, when they were alone.

* * *

   
  **Practice – Later that day**  
   
“Okay team!!” Coach Shumway called out to the players as they all set down their bags, grabbed their gear and raced to huddle up. “Tomorrow is gameday, so we’re going on some basics and fundamentals!” He glanced down at his clipboard and began reading off instructions. “Alright, my goalies; Miller, Monroe, Drew & Dickson. Go with Coach Caspian. I want you running Hit Spots & Rapid-Fire drills.” All the goalies broke off from the huddle and jogged to the goal on the far side of the field followed by one of the assistant coaches. Shumway continued. “Defensemen will be running the Hawk High drill with Coach Lewis. The rest of you; line up for 3 by 3 Face off.” Shumway blew his whistle and the remaining players dispersed to their areas of the field to get into position.  
   
Lexa lined up for the 3 by 3 Face off, pairing up with Atom and Dax. Looking out to the group they would match up against, she saw Pascal, Connor and Bellamy. Coach Shumway blew his whistle and tossed the ball to Atom, catching it in the pocket of his stick. Atom advanced a few feet towards the goal then  
passed the ball to Lexa. The minute the ball hit Lexa’s net, Bellamy charged at her. With her wolf instincts immediately taking over, she was able to quickly dodge him, and spin passed causing Bellamy to trip over his own two feet and fall face first into the ground. Passing the ball off to Dax to score, there were a chorus of jeers at Bellamy’s expense.  
   
He angrily hit the ground and stood back up, huffing with anger. “I wanna run that again coach!” He yelled gruffly. Stomping back to the front of the line, he didn’t exactly give anyone room to protest.  
   
“Alright…” Shumway yelled. “Same group! Let’s Line it up!!” He clapped his hands together while the players jogged back to their starting points.  
   
Lexa let out deep breath, hoping like hell she could execute the play yet again. The whistle blew, and she watched as the coach tossed the ball to Atom and the midfielder took a few slow strides, reading the field before passing the ball to Dax. Dax cradled the ball for a few steps then passed it off to Lexa. Just like the play before, the minute the ball landed in the pocket of her stick, Bellamy charged like a bull seeing red. And yet again, Lexa allowed her instinct to take over. Bellamy threw his stick out towards hers, aiming to slap check the ball out of her possession but before he could do so Lexa psyched him out, fake-stepping with her right then cutting left throwing her arm over his head. With Bellamy’s momentum unable to recover, he was sent to the ground face first while Lexa took off unguarded to score a goal.  
   
That is how most of practice went. Bellamy had made it his personal mission to take out Lexa, only it wasn’t working out too well for him. Every time he tried, Lexa would evade his efforts and he would end up on the ground with a face full of dirt and the echo of ridicule in his ears from not only his teammates but some of the spectators in the stands. His growing anger was evident in every step he made, every breath he took, and Lexa could hear his huffing and puffing from thirty yards away.  
   
Before she knew it, Lexa was up again facing off against Bellamy. She didn’t need supernatural abilities to tell he was fuming. This time, she was the defender and Bellamy was on offense. The whistle blew, the ball was passed and another faceoff ensued, but this one was far different than the last few. Bellamy got the ball and ran straight at Lexa with a fire in his eyes. For a fraction of a second Lexa hesitated, but a newfound wave of confidence flooded her, so she matched his speed and ran straight at him with equal force.   
   
When the two collided, it was like watching a car crash. The sound their impact made could be heard for miles. Both players were launched backwards from the force and hit the ground with a loud thud. The ball went forgotten as it fell out of the pocket of Bellamy’s stick and rolled to a stop on the grass. Several coaches and players rushed to crowd them, not getting to close, but close enough to see what was going on. Shumway & Lewis carefully stepped closer to the two who were writhing on the ground in obvious pain. As Bellamy was squirming on his back, grabbing his shoulder and groaning, Lexa was on her knees, hands clutching her head, forehead on the grass.   “Okay, take it easy, both of you.” Shumway told them, crouching down in front of them while Lewis moved over toward Lexa. “Blake. Talk to me. What’s hurt?”  
   
“It’s my shoulder.” Bellamy told him through clenched teeth.  
   
While everyone was focused on Bellamy, Raven pushed her way through the huddled bodies of the lacrosse team, running over to Lexa when she finally broke through. “Lexa.” She called to her best friend as she too crouched down at her side. “Hey… Lex. You alright?”  
   
“No.” Lexa strained to say through a groan and heavy breathing. “Raven, it’s happening.”  
   
Realization dawned on Raven and she knew she had to get her out of there. “Oh, crap. Okay let’s get you up.” Throwing one of Lexa’s arms over her shoulder, Raven heaved her up to her feet and called over to Coach Shumway. “Hey coach. I’m gonna get her to the Trainer’s office.”  
   
Without waiting for a response, Raven rushed across the field with the weight of her best friend into her side. They made it to the locker room without drawing too much attention to themselves. Luckily, the school was relatively empty, save for the few teams having practice or club meetings. Once inside the locker room, Raven closed the door and set Lexa down as gently as she could. Once she was out of her grasp, Lexa shuffled away from her on her hands and knees and continued to whimper in pain.  
   
Raven knelt down in front of her, keeping somewhat of a distance as to not startle her. “Lexa… what do I do? How can I help?”  
   
“Get away from me.” Lexa panted quietly trying to keep her inner wolf from getting out.  
   
Raven strained to hear her. “What?”  
   
“GET AWAY FROM ME!!” Lexa screamed, shucking off her helmet and showing Raven her glowing eyes and barred teeth. Raven fell backwards in fear, sliding herself backwards across the floor to get away. Gone was the best friend she grew up with. Lexa was now at the mercy of the wolf within and she was not in control.  
   
Raven’s back hit the wall behind her. Lexa took that as an opportunity and lunged at the girl, claws extended. While she flew to her, Raven used that moment to dodge the attack and run between the lockers, hiding behind the one of the columns. Standing as still and quietly as possible, the room fell into complete silence. She risked a glance around the side of the column to make sure her friend was okay but was met with no sight of her. That’s when Raven heard a low, deep growl. She froze in a panic given where the sound was coming from. Hoping she was wrong, the Latina slowly tilted her head back and looked up. Sure enough, there she saw Lexa; glowing eyes staring down at her like a predator eyeing her prey. Raven stood still, refusing to make any sudden movements. The two were staring each other down for what felt like hours before Lexa opened her mouth to let out a loud roar that reverberated off every square inch of the locker room. Raven took that as her cue to move. Lexa jumped down to the floor and gave chase as Raven ran, dipping and dodging through every aisle between the lockers, jumping over benches and chairs trying to get away.  
   
Along the way, she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end of the room. She turned around to head the other direction, but Lexa had her cornered. She had nowhere to run. Raven’s eyes scanned her surroundings for anything she could use. The best thing she could find within reaching distance was a fire extinguisher and grabbed it frantically. Lexa began to slowly step closer to her. Raven fumbled with the large cannister, struggling to remember how to use it.  
   
The only thing that came to mind was that there was an acronym she was supposed to remember, but for the life of her she couldn’t. With each passing second the werewolf got closer to her and she was running out of time. Throwing the fire extinguisher down in frustration, Raven looked up to see her friend less than ten feet from her.  
   
“Lexa.” She let out, hoping to appeal to the other girl’s humanity. “Lexa, you need to calm down. Try to think.”  
   
Looking into the glowing golden-yellow eyes, Raven could see that she wasn’t getting through. Her back hit the wall once again and she was damn-near hyperventilating. Lexa looked like she was preparing to lunge at her for the second time. Raven clenched her eyes shut and turned her head, terrified about what was sure to happen next. Suddenly she felt the presence of someone standing in front of her and heard two more growls overlapping one another. Opening her eyes, Raven was able to breathe a bit easier seeing Echo standing before her, shielding her from her best friends attack and Lincoln with his hand around Lexa’s throat holding her at arm’s length.  
   
With what looked like no effort at all on his part, Lincoln tossed Lexa aside, throwing her a few feet away and sending her crashing into a set of lockers. She recovered quickly, getting back to her feet and attacking again, but Lincoln was quick to stop her. In a swift move, he punched her across the side of her face. As she recoiled from the blow, he grabbed hold of one of her arms and quickly jerked his wrist. The crack of her bone breaking could be heard clear as day, as did the yelp she made immediately after. He sent one more strike to her face, sending her rolling to the ground groaning.   
   
A few moments passed and Lexa’s arm had healed. Shaking her head a few times she looked up at the other occupants of the locker room and Raven was relieved to see that she was Lexa again.  
   
“How’d you do that?” Raven asked in awe.  
   
Echo turned to her. “Pain makes you human.”  
   
All Raven could do was nod at that new information, storing it away in her mind for possible later use. Not that she could ever even fathom the thought of hurting her best friend in any way, even if she lost control and came after her again. She pushed herself off the wall, shoving her way passed both Echo and Lincoln to approach a guilt stricken Lexa.  
   
Lexa looked up at her best friend with unshed tears in her eyes. “Rae… I’m- I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean-”  
   
“It’s okay.” Raven interrupted. She knew Lexa was going to be feeling the weight of her actions for the foreseeable future. “It’s okay.”  
   
It took a few more minutes of reassurance before Lexa was even able to look the Latina in the eyes. She had calmed down and apologized enough in that time, then she turned to her two pack mates, thanking them for stopping her in time.  
   
After a short conversation in which Lincoln & Echo extended their apologies for everything that happened the night before and reiterated Luna’s earlier promise of sharing with her the knowledge of everything that comes with being what they are, the four of them spilt off to go their separate ways. Raven offered to wait while Lexa showered and changed so she could drive her to work. The car ride was mostly silent. Raven tried to lighten the mood with trivial chit-chat and random stories of dumb things that happened in her Auto Shop class, but Lexa wasn’t in the sociable mood just yet. Raven understood, but before Lexa got out of the car, she made sure to remind her that they were okay.  

* * *

  
**Later – Nyko’s Clinic**  
   
The distraction of being at work was enough to help Lexa get out of her own head and stop dwelling on what had happened earlier. Even Raven told her that it wasn’t a big deal, which did help. It was nearing closing time and Nyko had long since left when the bell over the door chimed and Lexa was greeted by that smile that had the butterflies in her stomach flapping with gusto. Clarke had come in to pick up her dog after Nyko had left her a voicemail earlier in the day.  
   
Lexa excused herself for a moment to retrieve the Alaskan Klee Kai from his kennel and walked him out to the front lobby where his owner was waiting. The minute the pup saw Clarke, he went crazy with excitement. He started jumping around in and out of Clarke’s lap as she crouched down to give him love. He ran back and forth between the two girls, to excited to sit still for even a second.  
   
   
Clarke and Lexa are at the clinic; both are watching Bowie jump around excitedly at seeing Clarke again – doesn’t seem to be in any/too much pain  
   
“Hi baby!” Clarke cooed elatedly, reaching out to pep him as he leapt up and tried to lick her face. “How are you?” Bowie dropped back down to the floor and spun around eagerly. “Oh my god, he’s hardly limping anymore.” She noticed.  
   
“Yeah, he just needed some time to rest his leg and stay off of it. The pain meds helped too. It’s best to leave the bandage on for a few more days, just to be safe but other than that, he’s okay to go home.”  
   
“Did you hear that buddy? You get to come home with mommy today.” Clarke looked up at Lexa with pure gratitude in her eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for everything. You took such great care of him.”  
   
Lexa shrugged shyly. “I was just doing my job.”  
   
“Job or not, I’m incredibly grateful. To you and your boss, I hope you’ll thank him for me.”  
   
“I can definitely do that.”  
   
Clarke clipped Bowie’s leash to his collar and stood up to walk him out. That’s when she remembered the other reason she came to the clinic. “Oh, hey. I heard about what happened at practice earlier today. Octavia said you took a bad hit or something. Are you okay?”   
   
The blonde stepped closer and Lexa could hear the concern in her voice. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Like she said it was a bad hit. Kinda gave me a headache, but everything’s fine now.”  
   
“Do you think you’ll still play tomorrow?” She asked out of curiosity.  
   
“I should, yeah.” Lexa decided to take a chance and stepped a bit closer to Clarke. “I uh… I do appreciate your concern though.”  
   
Clarke blushed a bit and smiled, reaching her free hand out to grab Lexa’s. “Well I was concerned. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”  
   
Lexa opened her mouth to respond but was suddenly hit with a scent she recognized but at the same time, felt new to her. Just then, both girls saw movement outside the glass door to the clinic despite the fact that it was dark out. That’s when the door opened and the bell chimed yet again. They quickly pulled their hands apart before the new visitor could notice.  
   
When he looked up at the two, all the air left Lexa’s lungs. She immediately recognized him as the hunter from the night before. The same one who had her shot in the leg with a crossbow and had his men aim their guns at her head in the middle of the woods. Lexa stood there frozen, contemplating how in the hell he could have found her. It was pitch black and she was wolfed out, so he couldn’t have recognized her; at least, that’s what Luna told her.  
   
The man gave Lexa a polite smile and nod of the head in greeting before turning to Clarke.  “Clarke, sweetheart. Is everything alright? You’ve been in here quite a while.” Lexa whipped her head back to the blonde wondering how they knew each other.  
   
“Oh, sorry.” Clarke spoke up remembering that he had been waiting for her in the car. “We started talking and I guess I lost track of time.”  She turned to Lexa to introduce them. “This is my stepdad Marcus. Marcus, this is Lexa, she’s uhm… a friend from school.”  
   
Lexa looked back to Marcus who returned her gaze with an unreadable expression, when all of a sudden, realization hit him and he smiled at her. “Ahh… the famous Lexa. Clarke won’t stop talking about you. She tells us you’re one hell of a lacrosse player.”  
   
Clarke glared at her step-father, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Seriously?” She asked him quietly, causing him to let out a chuckle.  
   
“What? I think it’s nice.” He regarded Lexa once more. “I hope you don’t mind a few extra spectator’s tomorrow night. Clarke’s talked about it so much my wife & we became intrigued.”  
   
Lexa snapped herself out of it, finally getting the frame of mind to speak. “N-not at all, sir. The more the merrier. We could use all the support in the stands.”  
   
“Excellent. Well, I can’t wait. Anyway, Clarke, we should still need to pick up your mother before dinner.” Marcus told her as he bent down to pick up Bowie and grabbed the leash out of his stepdaughter’s hand. “I’ll take this little guy to the car while you… say goodnight. It was lovely to meet you, Lexa.”   In that moment, all Lexa felt like she could do was smile and nod, watching him leave out the door. The second he was gone, she was able to breathe a little easier, but she couldn’t shake the fear she was feeling at this new development.  
   
“I should go.” Clarke spoke, interrupting the brunette’s thoughts. “But, uhm… I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”  
   
“Yeah. For sure.”  
   
Clarke leaned in for a hug to which Lexa awkwardly reciprocates. Before they pulled away, Clarke surprised her by planting a soft kiss on her cheek. It was enough to make all her worrying from moments ago temporarily float away into nothing.  
   
“Goodnight, Lexa.” She said, walking backwards slowly toward the door with a dreamy smile on her face.  
   
“Goodnight Clarke.” With that, the blonde turned around and left out the door after her step-father. The second she was gone, the euphoria of their moment lifted and all the anxiety came back in full force. She rushed forward, locking the door and drawing the shades. She pulled out her phone to text Raven, sending a frantic ‘SOS’ message. Running her hand through her hair, Lexa couldn’t help but think that in a past life she must have been an evil dictator or a ruthless leader of a savage clan. That was the only way she could figure why everything in her life had been drastically turning to shit lately.   
   
Letting out a deep breath, she nodded to the emptiness of the room. “Okay. That settles it. I’m fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already working on the next three chapter and am going as fast as I can. Thank you for those who are still reading!!!


	10. Luck Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus and Clarke on their way to pick up Abby; Raven helps Lexa during a freakout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of it being exactly one year since I first posted this story, I present you with a new chapter. It's a bit small, but it's better than nothing. Next one will be out as soon as possible.

There was a comfortable silence in Marcus’ 2018 Dodge Durango as he drove them to the other side of town towards the hospital. Clarke sat quietly in the passenger seat with Bowie curled up on her lap. The sudden state of excitement he experienced a few minutes ago at seeing his owner for the first time after spending a night apart had tuckered him out and now he was sound asleep. Clarke gently ran her hand over his head as he dozed, so glad that he was okay.  
   
“How’s our little guy feeling?” Marcus asked breaking the silence as he reached over to lightly pet Bowie, trying to be careful not to wake him.  
   
Clarke smiled down at her puppy. “He’s a lot better now. Lexa really did a great job.” Marcus took his eyes off the road for a few seconds to take a glance at his step-daughter, having heard the subtle elation in her voice when she spoke of the brunette they had just left.  
   
He smiled seeing her so happy. “So… that was Lexa.”  
   
Clarke shook her head at his tone. “Wow, that didn’t take long.”  
   
“What?” Marcus asked innocently.  
   
She turned slightly to face him, speaking softly so she wouldn’t bother Bowie. “Did you really have to say all that stuff in front of her?”  
   
“Uh… It’s my fatherly duty to embarrass you in front of potential romantic partners.”  
   
“No. It’s your fatherly duty to be the protective over your little girl.”  
   
“Well your mother told me that wouldn’t be necessary this time around. When she met Lexa, she had a good feeling about her. Not like with that Finn douche you dated last year. What you ever saw in him, I will never for the life of me understand.” Marcus couldn’t help but cringe thinking about the last guy his daughter dated. He could tell straight away that the guy was bad news, but he didn’t want to interfere too much in Clarke’s dating life no matter how badly he wanted to shield her from potential heartbreak.  
   
Clarke rolled her eyes thinking about it as well. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Finn Collins had to be the worst decision she had ever made in her life which was saying something since she was only sixteen years old. She blamed her relationship with him on teenage stupidity.  
   
“But… you like this, Lexa?” Marcus asked her sincerely.  
   
Clarke took a moment before answering, giving it some thought which, she really didn’t need to do. “Yeah, I do. After the stuff with Finn and after moving again, I didn’t think I’d want to try dating again this soon. But there’s something about her… I can’t explain it.”  
   
“Well, you gotta go with your gut, kiddo.” Marcus advised her, reaching over the center console to gently squeeze her arm. “Though you’d might like to inform her that if she does end up hurting you, I have an arsenal of weapons at my disposal… just saying.”

 Marcus was the closest thing Clarke had to a father. Her actual dad, Jake Griffin died when she was three, so she didn’t really have too many memories of him. Abby started dating Marcus a few years later and the two had married by the time Clarke was eight. Since the second he became apart of their lives, Marcus had been nothing other than a loyal, respectful husband to Abby and a doting, caring fatherfigure to Clarke. Abby had always appreciated that he treated Clarke like his own daughter without hesitation and the two were incredibly close because of it.  
   
Clarke just chuckled and shook her head. “I definitely won’t be doing that. The last thing I want is to scare her off.”  
   
“If you don’t want to scare her off, then you probably shouldn’t tell your Aunt Vera about her when she gets in tomorrow night.”  
   
Hearing this, Clarke jolted in her seat and turned to face Marcus. She was so wrapped up in her excitement, she didn’t realize that she had startled Bowie. “What!? V’s coming?”  
   
Vera was Marcus’ younger sister and for all intents and purposes, Clarke’s aunt. Despite not being blood related, Vera and Clarke had always been incredibly close. It helped that there was only a ten-year age difference between the two. Plus, given Vera’s fun-loving nature and care-free, rebellious attitude, Clarke always considered her to be more of a big sister than anything.  
   
“Yeah.” Marcus nodded as he let out a laugh at Clarke’s reaction. “I spoke to her earlier. She’s got some things to finish up where she’s at then she’s driving out here. She should be here by tomorrow night.”  
   
“That’s so awesome.” After a second, Clarke’s face slightly fell. “Wait? Tomorrow night? I’m going out with Lexa tomorrow night.” The last thing she wanted to do was cancel her date with Lexa, but she always liked to be there when V arrived.  
   
“Don’t worry, she most likely won’t get here until really late. You know she prefers to drive long distances at night.” That was true. Vera always complained about driving long distances in the middle of the day. She said the streets were filled with nothing but complete idiots who shouldn’t even be allowed to drive a lawn mower, let alone an actual car.   
   
Clarke chuckled at the memory of witnessing Vera’s road rage on several occasions. “Yeah. She said all the road rage induced idiots drive during the day and she’s less likely to get arrested if she drives at night.”  
   
“Lord knows she’s been arrested enough times.”  
   
“So how long is she staying?”  
   
“Open-ended trip. She’s coming to help me out with work.”  
   
Clarke furrowed her brows. “You need her help to sell firearms to local law enforcement?”  
   
“There is a hell of a lot more that goes into.” Marcus covered. He didn’t want Clarke to know the truth about what he did just yet. He and Abby agreed to keep her in the dark until she was old enough. Right  
now, was too soon and they wanted to maintain her innocence as long as possible. “I will tell you all about it one day… when you’re old enough. Then you can decide whether or not you want to go into the family business.”  
   
“Let me get through high school first.” Clarke joked.  
   
Marcus smiled over at her. “You got yourself a deal, kiddo.” 

* * *

  
   
Lexa threw open her front door and swung it closed in one quick, fluid motion, locking it before she rushed up the stairs two steps at a time. Her mom was at work and Luna had texted her earlier to let her know not to wait up for her. Once Lexa reached her room, she turned on the light and slammed the door closed, throwing her backpack down on the floor haphazardly not caring where it landed. She didn’t know what to do.  
   
So far, becoming a werewolf was not nearly as awesome as it was portrayed in the movies. Every time she felt like she was just barely getting a grip on things, she would learn something new that sparked her anxiety. This latest revelation was threatening to send her into a full-blown panic attack, something she’d managed not to have in two years. Her heart was pounding almost out of her chest, her breathing was alarmingly heavy, and her forehead was dripping sweat beads the size of horseflies.   
   
“Oh my god.” Lexa breathed out erratically, running her hands through her hair as she paced back and forth on the floor of her bedroom. “Holy shit. This can’t be happening. Jesus Christ, this can’t be happening. Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”  
   
That ‘mantra’ went on for another five minutes before Lexa heard the front door quickly open and close with a loud bang, followed by the heaviest of all footsteps rushing up the stairs and down the hallway until she saw her own door being thrown open and her best friend was crossing the threshold. In truth, she would have known it was Raven even without the super sense of hearing and smell.  
   
“Lexa?” Raven called coming to stand in front of the young werewolf, blocking her from continuing wearing a pattern in the floor. “Hey, Lex.” Raven could see the state of panic her best friend is in. “Okay, your text said 911… what’s going on? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey… calm down.”  
   
Lexa snapped her eyes up. “I can’t calm down. I’m trying to calm down, I can’t calm down.” She let out in one fast-paced breath.  
   
“Okay, then slow down. Alright, talk to me. What’s going on? What happened?”  
   
“It’s all screwed up, Rae. I-… Wait, how’d you get in? I locked the door.”  
   
Raven looked at her like she just asked her the most absurd thing ever. “I have a key.” She replied, as if it’s the obvious thing ever.  
   
“You hav-” Lexa started but then stopped herself, filing that in the back of her mind to bring back up later. Right now, she needed to focus on the current crisis. “… Y’know what, I can’t even bring myself to care right now. I’m two seconds away from having an honest to god anxiety attack.”  
   
Raven sat down on Lexa’s bed, hoping to get a sense of calm in the room. “I can see that, so talk to me. Did you have another run-in with the alpha?”  
   
“No, but it was something just as bad. Maybe even worse, I don’t know.”  
   
Raven stood back up, stopping Lexa who had begun pacing again, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Lex, what happened?”  
   
Lexa took a deep breath. “Do you remember what I told you about what happened last night when I was out on that wolf run with Luna and the others?”  
   
“Yyyeah.” Raven said slowly.  
   
“And you remember what I told you about the hunters?”  
   
“Did they come after you again?”  
   
“Not exactly.” Seeing Raven’s confused look, Lexa knew she needed to start at the beginning. So, she took another deep breath. “Okay, so Clarke came into the clinic tonight to pick up her dog, Bowie. We started talking for a little bit, when suddenly I picked up this scent that I know I smelled before. Next thing I know, a guy walks into the clinic. I look up… and it’s the hunter from last night.”  
   
“Which one? You said there were a few.” Raven needed clarification.  
   
“The leader of the Hunters. At least he seemed like the leader. He’s the one who had me shot in the leg with an arrow and had the rest of them aiming their guns at me.”  
   
“So… did he attack you? With Clarke right there?”  
   
“No. That’s were it got really screwed up.” Lexa paused, still trying to wrap her mind around what she couldn’t believe was in the realm of possible. “He was there with Clarke. He’s her father.”  
   
Raven stared at her with a blank face, blinking several times as she processed what her best friend had just revealed to her. “…Clarke’s… father?”  
   
“Yeah. Well, her step-father, technically. But still.”  
   
Raven retook her seat back down on the bed, staring off to nowhere, trying to work it out in her head. “Clarke’s step-father is the leader of a group of werewolf hunters that tried to kill you…” Raven stopped, realizing something. “Wait, do you think Clarke knows what you are? Do you think she’s a part of this?”  
   
That newfound thought sent Lexa’s mind on a whole new path of concern, causing her to freak out all over again. “I- I- I don’t know! Oh my god, what if she does? That would explain why she seems interested in me. She’s going to lure me into a trap and then kill me! Oh my god!”  
   
In a flash, Raven jumped back up from the bed to prevent another freak out. “Hey, hey… calm down. Just calm down. Did he recognize you at all?”  
   
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think he could have. I mean, Luna said that since it was so dark, and I was ‘wolfed out’ there’s no way he could make me out.”  
   
“Okay, then there’s no reason to think he knows what you are. And I highly doubt Clarke even knows what he is, I mean why would she?”  
   
Lexa allowed herself to consider that for a moment. “I guess that makes sense.”  
   
“Yeah.” Raven agreed. “So, no need to freak out too much. Everything’s fine.”  
   
“Yeah… yeah, you’re probably right. I’m just… I’m probably just overreacting.”  
   
“Well, that’s understandable.” Raven laughed it off. “I mean this is all pretty crazy.”  
   
“Yeah.” Lexa sighed. “Thanks for coming over, Rae.” She let out a somewhat bitter chuckle. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”  
   
Raven shook it off like she always did. “It’s all good. Of course, I came. What are best friends for?”  
   
Lexa nodded. “And I’m also sorry about earlier. In the locker room. I lost control.”  
   
“I already told you that you don’t need to keep apologizing about that.” Raven patted Lexa on the shoulder. “We’re good. Everything’s fine.”  
   
That’s when Lexa heard it. Clear as day. It might have been subtle, but there was no denying it.  
   
“Wait… What was that?” Lexa asked, looking into confused brown eyes.  
   
“What was what?” Raven asked.  
   
“I think I just… I heard your heartbeat.”  
   
Raven looked even more confused. “Okay… So?”  
   
“So… it jumped a bit when you said, ‘everything is fine’.” Lexa told her cautiously. “What’s wrong, Rae.”  
   
“Nothing.” Raven said quickly, but Lexa heard that uptick again.  
   
“Something.” Lexa countered. “What is it?”  
   
“I’ll tell you tomorrow, alright?” The last thing Raven wanted to do was tell her the news she had and risk sending her best friend over the edge.  
   
“Rae.” Lexa pleaded, staring down her best friend with nothing but concern in her eyes. The Latina had no other option but to give in.  
   
“Before you called me, I overheard another one of my dad’s phone-calls.” Raven shook her head, not wanting to continue, but she knew Lexa would never let her leave until she knew what was bothering her. “Another body was found… ripped up, just like the hiker in the woods.”  
   
All the air left Lexa’s lungs and she felt like she was going to pass out. Arkadia had always been a small, quiet town, but in the last week and a half, everything she’d ever known has been upended and there have been more murders than in the last few years. There is no way this is the new normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I appreciate all the comments and kudos. I love working on this story!!! Let me know what you guys think.


	11. Game On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's game day!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, let me say sorry for the wait. I have been working on this fic with every free second I get.
> 
> Just a quick note, I don't know too much about Lacrosse, but I did my best when writing out the game scene. I also researched a bunch so it could be as accurate as possible, but that doesn't mean I did it any justice.
> 
> The next chapter is the one you've been waiting for... The Bonfire Date!!!! I'm already working on it and will work my ass off to make sure it is good for you all.
> 
> Last thing. Clarke's aunt Vera (Marcus' little sister) will be making an appearance within the next two chapters and I've run into a bit of a snag with the face claim on her. I'd like to base her off of an actress so you guys can picture her when I describe her in scenes. I've narrowed it down to a few actresses, but I can't decide which. So I thought I'd ask you all. I'm thinking either Anna Silk or Minka Kelly. Or if you guys have someone in mind that resembles these two actresses, let me know.

 

**Next Morning**  
   
Lexa had managed to get a few hours of solid sleep. She woke up almost thirty minutes before her alarm was set to go off, and the minute she opened her eyes and saw the light from the rising sun peak through her curtains, the nerves for the day’s events set in. Tonight, there were two very significant events taking place. Later this afternoon, Lexa was starting in her first Varsity Lacrosse game and after that, she had ‘sort-of date’ with Clarke.  
   
Going about her normal routine, Lexa couldn’t stop her mind from running through all the possible scenarios of things that could go horribly wrong. No matter how hard she tried to take her mind off of it, it would creep back up to the forefront of her mind. The only time her anxiety over the game or the beautiful blonde was temporarily forgotten was when she was getting dressed for the day.   
   
There was a long-standing tradition established at Arkadia High for the members of the Varsity lacrosse team. On game days, each player wore the opposite jersey of the one they wore to the game. So, given that tonight’s game was at home, all players were expected to wear their away jerseys. They were also supposed to wear their letterman jackets.  
   
Lexa stood in front of her full-length mirror that was fixed to the small space of wall that sat between her closet and the entrance to her attached bathroom. Looking at herself, she felt ridiculous and kept tugging at her clothes knowing she would never normally dress like this day-to-day. As she adjusted the collars and hems of her clothing for the umpteenth time, she was pulled from her obsessive fidgeting by a soft knock on her bedroom door. She looked over her shoulder to see her mother standing in the doorway.  
   
“Morning kiddo.” Becca greeted softly. Lexa could see the slight bags under her eyes and the way she carried herself made it evident that all her energy was depleted.  
   
“Hey.” Lexa didn’t bother to hide the empathy in her voice. In all honesty, she felt guilty. The only reason Becca took the double shift is so she could be there for her game. Her mother was never anything but supportive. “Are you just now getting home?”  
   
Becca nodded, walking further into the room arms crossed over her chest. “Yeah. It was a pretty quiet night though, nothing too hectic.” She took a moment to see what her daughter was wearing. “Aww, you look so adorable.”  
   
“No, I don’t.” Lexa rolled her eyes. “That’s your exhaustion talking. You’re severely sleep deprived.”  
   
“Maybe, but I’m still lucid. At least for another hour.” Becca checked her watch. “I’m just going to take a quick shower and pass out for a while, get up, run some errands and then head over to see my amazing second-born start in her first Varsity game.”  
   
Both their attention was suddenly called to the bedroom door when Luna walked in, stilled wearing her pajamas. “Careful,” Luna began as she walked into the room and threw herself down on the bed, “Or you’re gonna freak her out more than she probably already is.”

 “I’m not freaking out.”  
   
“Not yet, you mean.” Luna laughed.  
   
Becca sat down on the edge of the bed next to her oldest. “Okay, now you’re gonna freak her out.”  
   
“Both of you stop! Or you really are going to have me freaking out!”  
   
Becca quickly stood up from the bed to try and prevent the girl from having a panic attack. “You got nothing to worry about, Lex. No matter what happens on that field tonight, I will always love you.” She decided to take that moment to break the tension. “Unless, of course, you lose… then you shouldn’t even bother coming home tonight.” At that, all three girls laughed. “Seriously, though… you got this kiddo.”  
   
Lexa gave her a shy smile. “Thanks, mama.” Becca gave her a kiss on the forehead.  
   
“Alright.” Becca said, stepping back. “I’m hopping in the shower.” She moved over to where Luna was laying, bent down and kissed Luna on the head. “You girls have a good day, Love you!”  
   
“You too!” Both girls called out in unison as they watched their mother walk out of the room and head down the hallway to her own room.  
   
Luna sat up on the bed, waiting to hear her mother’s footsteps descend down the hallway and the door to her room close. She listened out with her wolf hearing for the shower to turn on and when it did, she turned to her little sister. “I really don’t think you playing in this game tonight is a good idea. Especially after what happened at practice yesterday.” Taking in the look Lexa was giving her, Luna continued, answering the question she knew she was thinking. “Yes, Lincoln & Echo told me. They keep me updated on things that go on with you when I’m not around. Lexa, you turned during practice after taking a bad hit. What are you gonna do when that happens in the middle of a game with the bleachers packed full of people. You can’t control your shifts, not yet. So, playing in this game, will not end well; for you or anyone else.”  
   
Lexa threw her hands up in frustration. “So, you want me to what, call in sick? Not show up? I’m not gonna do that.”  
   
“Lex-”  
   
“No! Luna, you have no idea what it’s been like. You were always the superstar. Smart, athletic, popular… that’s never been me! Sure, my grades were great, but I was never anything more than the gay, socially awkward, mediocre lacrosse player with a legend for a big sister. I spent my entire summer training, day-in and day-out so I could get to this point. I am so tired of being… a loser. I want a shot a semi-freaking-normal life. Werewolf or not.”  
   
It took almost everything in Lexa keep her emotions at bay while confessing how she truly felt to her sister. She had been feeling this way for a long time, but it was in her nature to ignore it. She never wanted to put that on Luna and make her feel like she took the spotlight.  
   
Luna took a few moments to take in everything Lexa had just admitted to her. With each word, she could feel every ounce of what she was feeling; the almost self-hatred, the anger, the misery and most importantly, the fear. Luna had done her best to be there for her baby sister their whole lives. That instinct only quadrupled after she came out and their parents split, but after she left for college she hadn’t done as well at keeping in touch with her. She justified it by assuming since it was just Lexa and their mother now, things might have gotten easier but given what she had come home to, that wasn’t the case.  
   
“Okay.” Luna nodded, realizing just how badly Lexa needed this. “Okay, I get it… but just… be careful. If you feel yourself starting to lose control, then you need to get out of there right away. I’ll be there in the stands with mom, and Lincoln and some of the others will be close by to help.”  
   
Lexa let out a sigh of relief, calming herself after getting a bit worked up. “Thanks, Lu.”  
 

* * *

  
   
As soon as Raven pulled up to the curb outside the Woods home, the front door opened, and Lexa made her way out with her backpack and Lacrosse bag slung over her shoulder. Raven reached over to roll down the window and ensure that the passenger door was unlocked.  
   
“Hey!” She called out to her best friend as she watched her open the door, throw her bags into the back and hop in.  
   
“Hey, Rae. Thanks for picking me up this morning.”  
   
“Yeah, of course.” Raven noticed the slight signs of tension radiating off of the brunette. “You sleep okay?”  
   
“Not really.”  
   
“Well if it helps, you look like a total badass jock right now. All you need is a Letterman jacket and we’ll be living out a John Hughes movie.” The Latina sat back in her seat and put the car in gear, pulling off the curb and began the drive to school.  
   
Lexa scoffed and shook her head. “I’m pretty sure John Hughes movies are less chaotic. And they sure as hell have no murders, werewolves and hunters-”  
   
“-Oh my!” Raven added, laughing at her own joke.  
   
“Speaking of murders…” Lexa remembered what Raven had come over last night to tell her, “did you find out anything else about the one from last night?”  
   
At that, Raven temporarily took her eyes off of the road, maneuvering in her seat to reach behind her, rifling around the contents of her cluttered backseat. Lexa grew more nervous with each passing second as Raven continued at her speed. She wanted so desperately to grab the wheel and hopefully prevent them from getting into an accident. Before she could, though, Raven had found what she had been searching for, producing a file folder and handing it to Lexa as she corrected herself in her seat and returned her focus back to the road.

 

“Guys name was Cuyler Ridley.” Raven told her, recalling all the info she had memorized. “Worked as a nighttime security guard at one of the buildings down in the warehouse district. Best the cops can figure is he was attacked while doing his hourly patrol around the facility.”  
   
Lexa flipped through the pages of the file, looking at crime scene photos and reports written by the deputy’s that were investigating, when suddenly a thought struck her. “Wait. How did you get this? Isn’t stealing a case file from the police a crime? Besides, Sinclair is going to realize this is missing.”  
   
Raven looked truly offended. “How stupid do you think I am? I know it’s a crime to steal a case file… that’s why I made a copy of it while Sinclair was in the shower.”  
   
“I swear, one of these days, you’re going to get caught.” Lexa said, shaking her head.  
   
“Doubtful. I’m extra careful. Unlike our incredibly unlucky friend over there.” Raven motioned to the crime scene photo.  
   
Lexa shook her head. “This just says the cause of death was an animal attack.”  
   
“Well they’re not totally wrong.”  
   
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make any sense. Animals only attack when they’re provoked or hungry. This guy obviously didn’t do any provoking, and there is nothing in here about any part of him being eaten.”  
   
“Meaning...?” Raven asked, letting her sentence hang in the air hoping Lexa would finish it.  
   
“Meaning… this alpha is either killing just to kill or wants these people dead.”  
   
Raven nodded, picking up what Lexa was getting at. “So, then maybe there’s a connection between the dead hiker and this guy.”  
   
“Yeah, maybe.”  
   
“Alright. Then we’ll look into it. Coroner should have the autopsy finished by the end of the day. I’ll see if I can get my hands on it. But not until tomorrow. You got enough to worry about between the game and your date tonight with Clarke.”  
   
Lexa threw her head back. “It’s not a date.”  
   
Raven pulled into the school’s student parking lot and turned her head, giving Lexa a sly look. “You sure about that?”  
   
“…No.”

 

  
   
They continued talking about the ‘maybe/maybe not a date’ as they got out of the car and headed into the campus. Raven tried to give her friend some advice about how to tell if Clarke wanted it to be without directly asking her, seeing how the fact that Lexa had managed to ask her to the bonfire in the first place was a miracle in itself. Raven also gave Lexa some ideas for conversation topics in case they suddenly found themselves in the midst of an awkward silence.  
   
Walking into the school that morning was vastly different from every other time Lexa had done it. It was as if she had entered a twilight zone. Whether or not it was a good change or a bad one, she had no idea, but the second she stepped into the halls of Arkadia High School, every single occupant acknowledged her existence. Every person she passed stopped what they were doing, paused every conversation they were in the middle of to greet her. She mostly received a ‘Hey Lexa’ or a ‘Good Luck tonight Lexa’. Last week, she walked these same halls like a ghost, keeping her head down and getting from one class to another with minimal contact at best. Today, wearing her team hoodie, unzipped to show her jersey underneath, all her former invisibility was suddenly somehow negated.  
   
Lexa felt a bit torn. On one hand, having all this attention made her nervous. It reminded her of all the pressure she was under to perform the way she had been at practice and then some. If she failed, she would be the school’s biggest disappointment. On the other hand, this is the very thing she had worked towards all summer. This is what she had tried to explain to her sister that she wanted. In this moment, she wasn’t some random nobody, she wasn’t even ‘Luna’s kid sister; she was Lexa.  

* * *

  
**Later – 90 minutes before game starts**  
   
Athlete’s are some of the most superstitious people on the planet. Despite the fact that Lexa hadn’t had too much experience actually playing in the games, she still had a routine she followed when getting ready. From the way she put on her socks to the order in which she strapped on her shoulder pads, every step was precise. Having the locker room mostly to herself was a big help as she worked through her inner struggle with her nerves. The only other person in there with her was Monroe. Once she was finished getting ready, she announced that she would meet her in the ‘War Room’, giving Lexa a pat on the back as she passed her.  
   
Now that she was alone, Lexa took the opportunity to sit in the silence and calm herself. For the most part, she was dressed ready to go. The only she had left to do was switch out her Vans for her cleats, tape her wrists and put on her gloves; all of which she would wait to do until she got out to the field.  
   
After taking a few moments sitting in silence with her eyes closed and taking a few deep breaths, Lexa got up and went to one of the mirrors that sat above the sinks just past the showers. She took a good, hard look at herself and tried to psych herself up. “Okay, Lexa. You got this.” She whispered. “Just go out there and play like you have been. You got this… you got this.” With that final affirmation to herself, she took one more deep breath and grabbed her bag, stick, helmet  & gloves and left the locker room to make her way to the ‘War Room’ to meet up with the rest of the players and the coaches.  
   
The ‘War Room’ was a separate room within the schools athletic building for coaches and players to meet up before games, during halftime or occasionally for certain practices. Two of the walls were lined with whiteboards to write out plays and strategy, another wall had a projector screen with the projector hanging from the ceiling to watch game footage. Before every game, the Lacrosse team would meet there to go over last-minute refreshers for plays, and overall strategy for whichever team they were up against.   
   
Lexa was leaving the locker room and heading down the hallway to the ‘War Room’. Before she turned the corner, she heard hushed voices echo off the floors. Right away, she could tell it was Bellamy and a  
few other teammates. She turned the corner and stopped watching as they all seemed huddled together talking quietly between themselves. Lexa focused her wolf hearing on them, aiming her ears down the hall.  
   
“Humiliating me at practice is one thing.” She heard Bellamy huff to his boys. “There’s no way in hell I’m gonna let her do that in a game.”  
   
“We’re all on the same team here, man.” Lexa heard Miller say on her behalf. Nate Miller was Bellamy’s best friend, one of the team’s best goalie and a hell of a defender. Miller was also one of the very few people who could get away with talking back to Bellamy without getting any backlash from him. When it came down to it, at the end of the day, the two of them always had each other’s back. That bond had been cemented years ago when Miller first came out and Bellamy came to his defense whenever their so-called ‘friends’ turned on him.

   
“Yeah, well she still has to earn her way on this team.” Came Dax’s voice. “So, what’s the plan, Bell?” He asked.  
   
“Simple.” Bellamy answered. Lexa could hear the smug smirk he was no doubt giving. “Freeze her out. Don’t let her touch that ball.”  
   
Lexa could feel her pulse rising with the anger she felt. It only got higher as she heard them start to laugh at her expense. A low growl began to rumble in her chest and her fist clenched at her side. Before she could continue down the hallway and possibly confront them, a voice behind her caused her to jump.  
   
“Lexa?” Clarke startled the brunette. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”  
   
“No.” Lexa took a breath to calm herself, the minute her eyes landed on Clarke, she forgot about all the anger she was feeling at Bellamy just a moment ago. “No, it’s fine. It’s totally fine.”  
   
Clarke gave her a soft smile. “I just- I thought I’d try and see you before you went out there. I wanted to wish you luck.”  
   
Lexa felt herself blush. “Really?”  
   
“Yeah. Is that okay? It’s not weird, is it?” Clarke asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.  
   
“No, it’s- it’s not weird at all. It’s great actually. You, uh… you headed out to the field?”  
   
“Yeah. I’m just waiting for my parents to get here so I can show them where it is.”  
   
“Cool. My mom and sister should be here soon. You can’t miss her, she’s wearing a school shirt she had made with my jersey number on the back and ‘Lexa’s Mom’ written above it. She also has my number painted on her cheek. She sent me a photo, so I could find her in the crowd. It’s kinda embarrassing.”  
   
As embarrassing as it was having her mom dressed that way, it also made her feel good knowing that no matter what, her mother would always be full of nothing but pride for her.   
   
“She’s proud of you.” Clarke cooed thinking how sweet that was. “No need to be embarrassed. It’s awesome.”  
   
Lexa shrugged. “I guess I’m just not used to it. All that attention.”  
   
“Well… you might just have to get used to it.” Clarke told her softly. Deciding to be bold, she took a few steps closer to Lexa and reached out, playing with the hem of her jersey. “In fact, I may just have to ask your mom to make me one of those shirts, so I can wear it at your next game. But I’d have to change the word mom on the back to… something else.” Clarke was so nervous taking that leap, that she kept her eyes down, focusing on her hands as she continued to fiddle with Lexa’s jersey.  
   
Lexa heard the blonde’s heart flutter as she spoke and knew hers was doing the same. Her mind suddenly became flooded with the vision of Clarke wearing one of those shirts with the words ‘Lexa’s Girl’ written on the back. Despite the confidence in Clarke’s tone, Lexa could tell she was nervous. “I think I might like that.” She said softly.  
   
Hearing that, Clarke looked up to meet Lexa’s eyes. Looking in them, she could tell that the brunette was being genuine. “Yeah?” Lexa nodded and the two of them held their gaze for several moments. They were only interrupted when Clarke’s phone chimed. With a huff of annoyance at the disturbance of their moment, Clarke took her phone out and checked it. “My parents just got here, I’m going to go meet them. But, good luck…” Standing up on her tip toes, Clarke gave Lexa a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you out there.” She told her as she turned and walked off before turning back. “We’re still on for tonight, right?” She asked as though she just remembered.   
   
“Definitely.” Was all Lexa could bring herself to say as she was still in a daze over the kiss.  
   
Clarke gave her a smile. “Great, can’t wait.” She said and continued down the hallway and out the door.  
   
Once Clarke was gone, Lexa made her way down the corridor to the ‘War Room’. She was still in somewhat of a stupor over her interaction with the blonde, that she was hardly paid any attention to what the coaches were saying. When they were done, they made their way to the field and set their stuff down at the bench. The game was set to start in 45 minutes and the opposing team still had fifteen minutes left of their allotted time to use the field for their warm-up. This allowed Lexa and the team time to finish getting ready and greet their guests.  
   
As Lexa approached the bench, she looked up at the crowd and saw that the stands were nearly filled. She scanned all the people, not really looking for anyone in particular, but her eyes stopped when caught the familiar glimpse of blonde hair. Clarke looked absolutely gorgeous in the subtle glow of the setting sun as she laughed and talked with Octavia sitting next to her, completely oblivious that she was at the forefront of the brunette’s mind. Lexa wasn’t aware of how long she had been staring and smiling until she saw Clarke’s mother, Abby who was sitting on her other side, lean into Clarke’s ear. Reading her lips, she could tell that she said something along the lines of ‘Lexa’s looking at you’, then suddenly both women were looking back down at her. Lexa, feeling nervous, gave them both a shy wave before turning back to the bench to start taping up her wrists and hands before she could put on her gloves.  
   
Just as she finished taping up her hands, Lexa heard her name called behind her. When she turned around, she saw her mother a few feet away, beaming at her with the biggest smile. Standing next to her was Sinclair, in his civilian clothes, Luna & Raven. For the past few years, Lexa had grown accustomed to having the four of them behind her showing her their support and love. It was such a normal occurrence that she began to think more and more of Sinclair & Raven being a part of her family, and it bothered her much less than it used to that her father wasn’t there.  
   
  
Without warning, Becca ran up to her youngest and pulled her into a tight hug, swaying them back and forth in her excitement. When she finally let go, Sinclair gave her a quick hug, followed by Luna and Raven as well. Becca went on to state how happy and proud she was and told her once again to just do her best and all will be well. Before the makeshift family made their way up to the stands, Becca insisted that she get ‘a few’ pictures. Handing Sinclair her phone he snapped a few photos of Becca & Lexa and a few of the mother-daughter trio. That soon turned into a mini photo-shoot where they stood for every combo of pictures they could; Lexa/Raven, Lexa/Luna, Lexa/Luna/Raven, Becca/Lexa/Sinclair & finally one with all five of them. Lexa was starting to feel embarrassed by the whole thing, but little did she know, Clarke was watching them all with a fond smile.  
   
Becca was finally satisfied with all the pictures they had taken. With one last wish of good luck and a kiss to the forehead, they said their ‘goodbye’s and went up into the bleachers, taking the empty seats in front of Clarke and her parents.  
 

* * *

  
   
   
Clarke felt herself becoming nervous. After watching the sweet family moment with Lexa down on the ground, she saw Becca, Luna, Sinclair & Raven ascend the steps to the stands getting closer and closer to them. While she had met Becca before, earlier in the week at the hospital, the thought of meeting her again became somewhat daunting seeing as how she was now going on a date with her daughter later that night. That is, if it even was a date, she wasn’t sure. Through all the sounds of the surrounding crowd, Abby shouted out to get Becca’s attention, showing her the row directly in front of them was open.  
   
“Abby, how are you?” Becca asked setting her bag down in front of her seat and giving the doctor a hug.  
   
“Good. You remember my husband, Marcus?” Abby replied. Becca & Marcus exchanged pleasantries, having met at the hospital a few days ago when he was there to pick up his wife. “And Clarke.” Abby continued, seeing how nervous her daughter had become.  
   
Becca turned to Clarke with a genuine smile. “It’s so good to see you again Clarke.” She said to the blonde. “Lexa tells me you guys are going to the bonfire together later tonight?”   
   
“Yes ma’am.” Clarke responds feeling her mouth go dry. Becca had to hold back a chuckle.  
   
“Yeah, she asked to borrow the car tonight. I hope that means she’s picking you up?” All Clarke could do was nod this time. “Good. I raised her to be chivalrous. Let me know if she’s ever not. I’ll smack her for ‘ya.” Becca joked hoping to ease the blonde’s worry. It seemed to have worked as Clarke laughed along with her.  
   
Sinclair joined them a minute or so later after having been stopped on the way up by someone for a quick chat. Once he reached claimed his seat next to Becca, he turned to Marcus and held his hand out to shake.

 “Mr. Kane. It’s good to see you again.”  
   
“Sherriff.” Marcus replied as the two shook hands. “This is my wife, Abby.” Sinclair shook Abby’s hand as well. “Have you given any thought to my proposal?” Marcus asked, referring to the sales pitch he had given the day before.  
   
“I have.” Sinclair told him. “What do you say you come to my office on Monday to discuss it further?”  
   
“Will do.” Clarke rolled her eyes. No matter where they were, Marcus was always trying to close a deal. Her stepfather was the largest supplier of weapons and tactical gear for all law enforcement in the country. A job that meant they had to travel quite a bit. It definitely made dating troublesome when potential partners found out that her dad had unfettered access to firearms and had a lot of friends on the force. She was hoping it wouldn’t bother Lexa when she found out.  
   
Clarke looked over to say hi to Raven and noticed Lexa’s older sister Luna had a weird look on her face as she glanced at Marcus. It seemed strange to her, but before she could think much on it, the buzzer on the scoreboard sounded and the crowd started to clap as that meant the game was getting ready to begin.

* * *

  
At the sound of the buzzer, Lexa joined her team in the huddle to receive one final pep talk from Coach Shumway. Everyone was getting pumped and riled up; this was sure to be a good game. Shumway called out the starting positions and it still amazed Lexa that she was starting as an attacker.   
   
Once the whistles blew, and the players took the field to claim their positions, the home-team side of the crowd started cheering. Bellamy arrived at center field and got ready for the face-off as the crowd died down. The captain of TonDc High School’s team met him and the two stared each other down. The field was eerily quiet. Everyone waited with bated breath for the outcome of the one-on-one. More times than not, the first few moments set the tone of the entire game.  
   
The main referee, with the ball in hand, approached the two players. He glanced back and forth between the them, stopping about half a yard away. The piercing sound of the whistle penetrated the air just as the ball was dropped between the opposing players. Like two dogs to a bone, both lunged for it, their shoulders colliding & fighting to reach it first. After a few moments of give and take, Bellamy came out on top, knocking the ball away and towards a nearby Atom. Scooping the ball into his net, Atom picked it up and took off down the field toward TonDc’s goal. Defenders were immediately on him, so he swung his stick to pass it off to Pascal. Lexa ran down the side of the field, only one defender between her and an otherwise open shot. She waved her stick in the air, calling for attention that went unnoticed. From her place, she watched as Pascal quickly evaded a defender and passed the ball to Bellamy who went on to score. The crowd erupted with applause and cheers, chanting all manner of things as the guys celebrated to goal.  
   
Lexa decided to shake it off and regroup. As she got ready to retake her position for the next faceoff, she saw Bellamy, Miller, Atom and Pascal huddle together on the other side of the field. As subtly as she could, Lexa tuned her wolf ears to hear what they were saying.  
   
“Dude, Lexa was wide open just now.” She heard come from Miller.  
   
Bellamy furrowed his brows at his best friend. “Who cares? Remember what I said.”  
   
“C’mon, Bell. I just want to win.”  
   
“And we will.” Bellamy promised. “Now, what did I tell you?”  
   
Miller let out a huff thinking how stupid this was, but Bell had an ego and the lacrosse field was the last place to call him out on it. “‘Don’t pass to Woods’.” He repeated the words he was ordered earlier.  
   
“There you go.” Bellamy said pleased. Their huddle broke and the guys ran to take their positions again. Now Lexa was more determined than ever to prove herself.  
   
Everyone got set up for the next faceoff; this time Pascal took the helm at the center of the field, going up against the TonDC player. There was another struggle when the ball dropped between the crosses and this time the away team took possession. Arkadia’s defenders were able to check the attacker and steal the ball. It was clear that the players of TonDC were much better than they had been in the past. They were quicker and far more alert than they had been given credit. This game was sure to be an interesting match.   
   
Lexa tried to insinuate herself more in the action when they got back to her side of the field. Miller got the ball but was surrounded by incoming defenders. Seeing Lexa was open, he passed it off to her, but before the ball could reach her, Bellamy ran in front of her and picked it off. He dashed a few yards and tried to score again but their goalie was more prepared this time around and was able to block.   
   
Up in the stands, Octavia decided that her brother needed some more motivation. She and Gina reached behind them to the large banner that they made and brought with them. As they unrolled it, they realized it was a bit bigger than they originally thought. Octavia turned to Clarke and asked her to help them hold it up. After reading it, Clarke was hesitant. The last thing she wanted was Lexa to look up, see her holding a sign for Bellamy and get upset. Octavia started to beg, so Clarke gave in to the pressure and took and edge of the sign, hoisting it up high in the air with the other girls so the players could see it.   
   
Lexa was jogging up the field when she saw a sign get raised in the stands. She glanced at it for a moment then did a double take when she read in big, bold letters the words ‘We Love Bellamy!’ painted across a large banner and Clarke standing beneath it. Lexa’s shoulders slumped, and she brought her attention back to the game, hoping like hell she would get the ball soon.  
   
   
 

  
There were two minutes left in the first half of the game and TonDC was ahead 2-1. Lexa still hadn’t touched the ball. Every time she got anywhere near it, Bellamy popped up out of nowhere and got to it first. By some stroke of luck, the ball was knocked out of Atom’s stick and was thrown to the ground, rolling about ten feet in front of her. Lexa sprinted after it, ready to pick it up and work her magic, but right and she approached it to scoop it up, Bellamy rammed his shoulder into her, knocking her off her course and to the ground. He let out a chuckle, scooped up the ball and ran towards the goal.   
   
Whether he scored or not, Lexa had no idea. The minute she hit the ground, she felt it. Just like at practice the day before, her heart began pounding in her chest and every inch of her was on fire. The small patch of dirt beneath the mask of her helmet flew up in a small gust with each ragged and heavy breath she let out. One of the coaches ran up next to her and crouched down by her ear, checking to see if she was alright. All Lexa could hear was her pulsating beat of her heart pounding in her head. Suddenly, she was lifted up by her elbow and onto her feet, being walked off the field. Shumway patted her on the back as she finally got the frame of mind to walk off to the side of the bench.   
   
Becca watched from the bleachers as her daughter was checked by her own teammate and had not yet gotten up. She watched as one of the coaches and the athletic trainer walked her off the field and she walked over on her own, to stand a few feet away from the bench.  
   
“Crap, I think she’s hurt.” Becca said getting ready to head down and check on her youngest. She stopped when she felt a hand grab her elbow.  
   
“It’s okay,” Luna said stepping past Becca. “I got it, Mom.”  
   
Becca was a bit reluctant to stand back. Her natural ‘Mama bear’ instincts wanted to just rush down there and protect her baby, but she fought back and let Luna go. “Okay. Just make sure she’s alright.” She called out when Luna was already a few feet down the stairs.  
   
When Luna reached her little sister, she could hear her heart beating rapidly and her breathing was erratic. She stepped in front of Lexa and placed her hands on either side of the girls’ helmet, lifting her head up to take a look at her.  
   
“Talk to me Lex, what’s wrong?” Luna spoke calmly.  
   
“I can feel it.” Lexa said through her deep, uneven breaths. “I’m trying not to.”  
   
“Okay. It’s okay.” Luna gently pulled Lexa even further away from the bench, giving them some privacy so she could talk her sister down. “Just breathe and focus on my voice, alright? Repeat after me. ‘Ai Gonplei’”  
   
Lexa strained to speak but tried anyway. “‘Ai Gonplei’” She repeated, focusing on saying the words just as her sister did.  
   
“‘Nou ste odon’” Luna continued.  
   
“‘Nou ste odon’” Lexa already felt her breathing slow down and her pulse wasn’t as harsh as it was before. “… wha-what is that?”  
   
“It’s called Trigedasleng. It’s a language used by werewolves a long time ago. It’s a mantra, something we say to help us keep control. It means 'My Fight Is Not Over.' Just keep saying it. ‘Ai Gonplei…’”  
   
Lexa continued to repeat the words, over and over again until she felt herself return back to normal. When she realized that she was no longer turning, she was amazed. “It worked. I did it. I controlled it, I pulled it back.”  
   
“Yeah you did.” Despite how tentative Luna was about Lexa playing in this game for this very reason, she was somewhat surprised that she was handling it so well. “You know, you don’t always have to hold it all in Lexa.”  
   
“What do you mean?”  
   
“If you really focus and allow yourself, you can control it. Being what we are is a gift… use it.” Luna gave her an encouraging pat on her shoulder pads just as the halftime buzzer sounded over the field. “You got this, Lex.” She said before turning back to rejoin her mother up in the stands.  
   
For halftime, Lexa tuned out for the coaches talk and tried to aim all her focus on what Luna had said. It was just like the night of the run, all she had to do was concentrate. When it was time to start the second half, Lexa had begged Coach Shumway to let her back in. As she took the field, she closed her eyes and remembered that night in the woods. She funneled all her feelings of fear, anger and anxiety out and allowed herself to let go. Lexa took a final breath as a wave of power coursed through her and then… she felt it.   
   
Once again, the whistle blew, and the faceoff ensued. TonDC had taken possession, but when one of their midfielders went to pass, Lexa intercepted it. Making a fast break towards the goal, she dodged each defender that came at her until it was only the goalie left in front of her. With her wolf abilities switched on, she was able to quickly find an opening in his stance, so she aimed and took the shot. The ball whizzed past the goal keeper and flew into the net, causing the crowd to go crazy. Jogging back to her position, Lexa received a number of high fives and ‘good shots’ called out to her but could barely hear them over the sound of Shumway screaming to every single one of his players, “PASS IT TO WOODS!! GET THE BALL TO WOODS!!”   
   
For the first time since the start of the game, Lexa smiled and let herself enjoy the moment. From that moment on, she had all the confidence in the world. With the score now tied up, the entire mood of the game turned. Arkadia took possession at the next face off and every players priority was to pass the ball off to Lexa. The minute the ball reached the pocket of her net, she made every evasive move possible to make the goal.  
   
When she scored for the third time, she was surprised to hear the crowd had actually started to chant her name. A chorus echoed through the entire field as they screamed ‘LEX-A! LEX-A! LEX-A!’ over and over again.   
   
   
With less than a minute left on the scoreboard that read Arkadia in the lead 5-4, Lexa got ready for one last play. Atom crouched at centerfield for the final faceoff and he looked determined. The ball dropped, and he quickly swiped at it, sending it over to Miller to scoop up. While one of their defenders chased after Miller, the rest prepared for him to pass it off to Lexa. She was surrounded and couldn’t seem to find a way to get free. Suddenly, her ears picked up the sweet, soft voice of Clarke all the way up in the stands. By the sound of it, the blonde was whispering to herself, sending Lexa her support from afar.   
   
“C’mon Lexa.” She heard Clarke say under her breath, “You got this.”  
   
Hearing those words, Lexa felt a second wave of confidence and newfound fortitude. Pushing off her back leg, she rushed through the small space between two of the defenders, causing them to stumble  
forward, and dashed across the field in Miller’s direction. He noticed Lexa break free and was able to pass it off to her. Lexa caught the ball while still in motion and cut back towards the goal. A TonDC defender ran at her hoping to block her shot, so Lexa leapt into the air and swung. When the ball left her pocket, time seemed to have slowed. The ball travelled through the air and soared over the goalie’s shoulder and into the net just as the buzzer sounded to end the game.  
   
Referee’s blew their whistle to signal that the goal had counted and Arkadia had won 6-4. That’s when every spectator for Arkadia screamed at the top of their lungs and half of them rushed the fields to celebrate with the players. A majority of them were students and siblings wanting to congratulate each player.   
   
As her teammates ran past her on the field to head to the bench and celebrate the win, they would pat her on the back and scream how great she did. Lexa felt herself get lightheaded and anxious at the idea of being suddenly surrounded by her peers, so when no one was watching she ran off the field and headed towards the locker room. What she didn’t know, however, was that one particular blonde saw her and decided to follow.  
 

* * *

  
   
Lexa felt like she was coming down from a major high, but she wasn’t just coming down, she was crashing. Her head was throbbing, and she was dizzy & lightheaded. Walking into the locker room, she was stumbling and tripping over her own two feet.   
   
She managed to stay upright long enough to reach one of the sinks. The cool feel of the porcelain provided her some relief, so she turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on her face and held her wrists under the stream. Lexa was so focused on trying to calm herself back down, that she didn’t even hear someone enter the locker room.   
   
Clarke slowly approached the brunette. It was obvious she wasn’t feeling well, and she was starting to get worried about her. “Lexa?” She called out softly, trying to get her attention without startling her. “Hey… are you okay?”  
   
Lexa turned off the faucets and wiped her face on her jersey before she turned around. The minute her eyes met the concerned blue staring back at her, it all went away. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I just took off. I was feeling kind of lightheaded. I needed to come in here and calm down.”  
   
“Well, you’re probably just coming down from the adrenaline.” Clarke explained with a smile. “You were amazing out there.”  
   
Lexa looked down at her feet. “Not at first.”  

“So, what? You just had to find your groove.” Clarke shrugged, shaking it off like it was nothing. “But when you did, it counted.” Lexa looked up at her and couldn’t fight the blush that crept up on her face, but she was hoping the cold water could have explained that away. The two of them held their gaze before Clarke spoke up again. “So, listen. I’m- I’m sorry about earlier; the thing with Bellamy’s sign. I hope you didn’t take that the wrong way.”  
   
“Oh.” Lexa looked away, knowing if she continued to hold her eye contact with Clarke, she would see through her lie. “You have nothing to apologize for. I wasn’t all that bothered with it.”  
   
It was obvious to Clarke that she was lying. She saw Lexa’s reaction on the field when she saw her holding the sign. So, she decided to mess with the brunette. “Well, then, I guess for the next game you wouldn’t care if I wore Bellamy’s jersey number and cheer him on for the entire game?”  
   
“I mean… if- if that’s what you want to do.” Lexa tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, but it was noticed.  
   
“Lexa.” She said, getting the girl to finally look at her. “I’m messing with you. Bellamy’s alright, but it was pretty obvious tonight that he’s an attention seeker. The only person I want to cheer for is you.”  
   
A goofy, lopsided grin found its way onto Lexa’s face. “Yeah?”  
   
Clarke stepped closer and grabbed hold of Lexa’s hands that were at her sides. “Yeah.”  
   
Lexa felt herself growing confident again. With Clarke’s hands in hers and the blonde standing less than an inch away, Lexa decided to lean down and rest her forehead against Clarke’s. She could feel the heat of her breath on her lips and the grip on her hands tighten. Slowly, each of them moved closer to one another. Their lips were inches apart and getting closer. This was it, Lexa thought, she was about to kiss Clarke Griffin.    
   
“Lexa?!” Raven’s voice sounded through the locker room from the entrance, her footsteps getting closer. “Hey, Lex you good?” The girls broke apart just as Raven rounded the corner and saw how they were standing. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”  
   
“No, it’s fine.” Clarke waved it off, so Raven wouldn’t feel bad, then turned back to Lexa. “I should go back to my parents and… head home. You’re still going to pick me up?”  
   
Lexa chuckled shyly. “Yeah, I’ll text you when I’m on my way. I just need to shower, change and get the car.”  
   
“Okay,” Clarke smiled at her, starting to walk backwards, building up her will power to leave despite wanting to remain in the brunette’s company a little longer. “So, I’ll see you in a bit.” Clarke held onto Lexa’s hand until the last possible moment, missing the contact immediately. “See ya, Raven.” She said walking past her.  
   
“Later, Clarke.”  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you to those who are still reading, commenting and leaving kudos. I appreciate it a lot. Let me know what you think and give me your thoughts on my OC Face Claim.


	12. Life Of The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Clarke go to the Bonfire together and things... develop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I was working on a few other fics. I know some of you have been anxious for this chapter. I worked pretty hard on this so I hope I did this justice and you all enjoy.

 

 

 

Lexa stepped out of the hot shower feeling the muscles in her body finally relax after the day she had, and yet, her night was just barely beginning. She ran the towel over her shoulders and abdomen before wrapping it tightly around her waist and throwing on a fresh sports bra that she set aside. Standing in front of the mirror, Lexa wiped the fog off and watched herself comb out her still damp hair, wondering it to herself how she was going to wear it for the night.  
   
She finished up in the bathroom and made her way out to her bedroom to get dressed but was startled to find her mother leaned up against the doorway outside of the en suite and her sister sitting on the edge of her bed. Both had sly grins plastered on their faces as their eyes were glued to the youngest in the house.  
   
“Jesus, Mom!” Lexa yelped jumping back a foot as she came into the bedroom.  
   
Becca winced, not intending to frighten her daughter. “Sorry. I just wanted to give these to you.” She held up her hand and dangled the keys to her Maroon 2006 Jeep Cherokee in front of the young girl’s eyes.   
   
Lexa reaches for them gently, almost worried that any sudden movements will force her mother to yank the keys back and rescind on their agreement. “Thank you.”  
   
“You’re welcome. So… this thing tonight. Is this just two friends going to a party? Or is this a date?”  
   
Lexa tried to give a straight answer, but it all came out in stammers. “… Well, I- It’s just, I… I… I don’t know.”  
   
“How do you not know?” Becca almost yelled, resisting the urge to smack her upside the head for being so dense.  
   
“I never actually asked her on a date.” Lexa admitted almost defeatedly. “I just asked if she wanted to go to the bonfire with me. So… I think it’s a bit of both. But I don’t know.”  
   
“Well, I really think you guys need to get on the same page. Just ask her if she wants to consider this a date or not.”  
   
Lexa shook her head suddenly growing nervous at the whole idea. “I don’t know, ma.”  
   
“Oh c’mon, baby…” The mother plead, “you and Clarke would be so cute together. I think she would make the most perfect daughter-in-law.”  
   
Hearing that caused Lexa’s eyes to widen in surprise, which led to Luna letting out a loud laugh that echoed off every inch of the room.  
   
“Okay!” Lexa shouted to be heard over her sister’s obnoxious laughter. “We’re done with this conversation.”  
   
“Relax. I was messing with you.” Becca chuckled, giving Lexa a light swat to the arm in an effort to ease her worry. “But in all seriousness, I have to ask you…” Lexa turned to face her mother, matching the serious face she was now giving her. “We don’t have to have ‘The Talk’ do we?”  
   
Lexa couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that. “Mom, we’ve had the ‘Safe Sex’ talk twice already. Trust me… third time is not the charm in this situation.”  
   
It was now Becca’s turn to widen her eyes in surprise. “Wow! Okay! I was referring to the talk where I tell you if you bring my car back with an empty tank, I’ll kick your ass.” There was an awkward pause that settled through the room for a fraction of a second. “But now, I’m debating just taking the keys from you all together.”  
   
As Becca reached for the keys, Lexa held them behind her back out of arms-length. “No, no, no, wait. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re right. I will fill the tank all the way up and I’ll even throw in a back up tank and an oil change. Just-… please don’t take the keys.”  
   
“Fine.”  
   
“You gave her the ‘Safe Sex’ talk twice?” Luna asked, still trying to wrap her head around what she had heard her sister say.  
   
“Well…” Becca started in her defense, “the first time was before she came out. Then after she did, I thought it would be a good idea to re-cover some areas.” Luna looked at her like she was crazy. “Look, it’s not like it was exactly comfortable for me either! I don’t really enjoy the thought of my babies growing up and having sex.”  
   
Luna chuckled. “Wow. I can’t even imagine what your browser history looked like that week.”  
   
“You don’t wanna know.” Lexa said with a straight face and a monotonous tone.  
   
Eventually Becca and Luna left Lexa to get dressed, but not before helping her decide on an outfit and a way to wear her hair. With their help, they decided on a pair of dark blue jeans, a black tank top underneath an open, black & white plaid button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She threw on a pair of black Converse, her leather jacket and put her hair up in a high ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face.  
   
She took one last look at herself in the full-length mirror in her room. “Here goes nothing.” She said as she turned to leave, heading down the stairs to meet her awaiting mother who was grinning way too hard to be comfortable and Luna. They sent her a final wish of luck before letting her walk out the door.   
   
On her walk from the front porch to the driveway, Lexa sent Clarke a text letting her know that she was on her way. To which, the blonde sent her a reply with a smiley face emoji.

* * *

   
Lexa used the drive to try and figure out how the hell she was going to survive spending time alone with someone she was definitely crushing on. This was all new to her. Lexa had never dated anyone before. She’s had crushes, she’s had a fling with a girl, but a date? She had no idea what they would do or talk about for two whole hours (or more).

Even the fact of whether or not what they were doing tonight was an actual date was still an unknown that had her anxious. What if Clarke didn’t want this to be a date? What if she only saw her as a friend? Lexa shook all the frantic thoughts out of her head before she had a panic attack behind the wheel. She decided to just take the night one step at a time and figure things out as they came.   
   
After another few minutes on the road, Lexa pulled up to Clarke’s house and was in awe of how big it is. She shouldn’t have been surprised given the neighborhood she was in. Lexa drove up the curved driveway and put her car in park, looking up at the massive contemporary style home.   
   
Giving herself a final word of encouragement, she took a deep breath and got out, walking to the front door and nervously rung the bell. Just when she thought she had a handle on her nerves, the front door opened to reveal Marcus, Clarke’s hunter father.  
   
“Lexa.” Marcus said with a touch of excitement. “It’s good to see you again. Come in, come in.” He stepped aside giving her room to come into the house. Lexa stepped inside and glanced around, taking in the open interior with the high ceilings and an impressive chandelier hanging just before the arched stairway. “You were incredible tonight. I mean, I’ve only ever seen a handful of lacrosse games, but you were by far the greatest player on that field… hands down.”  
   
“Oh, I doubt that, but I appreciate you saying so, sir.”  
   
Just then, Abby walked downstairs, greeting the girl with a smile. “Lexa. We were all just talking about you. You played one hell of a game.” Lexa nervously chuckled, she wasn’t used to being complimented so much. “And you should have seen your mother in the stands. She was cheering her head off for you.”  
   
Hearing that, Lexa got a bit nervous knowing how intense her mother could be. She rubbed her hand on the back of her neck uneasily. “…Yeah. She tends to get a little over-zealous when she’s showing her support for my sister and me. I’m sorry if you were put-off in any way.”  
   
“Oh, not at all! It was very refreshing.” Abby offered. “And I admire the bond all of you have, it’s very beautiful.”  
   
“Thank you.”  
   
“You’re very welcome. Clarke should be down any second.” Lexa nodded not knowing how else to respond. The three waited in an awkward silence and Abby took notice of how Lexa’s hand was anxiously tapping at the side of her leg. “If it makes you feel any better, she’s just as nervous.” Abby told the young girl, hoping it would help her out. It did.  
   
Lexa opened her mouth to respond when she saw movement at the top of the stairs out the corner of her eye. They all looked up to see Clarke descending the stairs. Lexa watched in awe as time seemed to pass slowly. Clarke was wearing black skinny jeans and a sleeveless, white V-neck blouse with black trim and black flats. Her hair was down in heavy curls cascading down her back. Lexa couldn’t take her eyes off the gorgeous blonde as she made it to the bottom of the stairs and locked eyes with her.   
   
The two stood, taking each other in and not saying a word as Marcus & Abby watch on in amusement.  
   
“Hi Lexa.” Clarke said almost shyly.  
   
“Hi.” Lexa replied, matching the smile the blonde was giving her. Marcus cleared his throat, growing rather uncomfortable at the scene before him. Lexa snapped back to reality and remembered that they weren’t alone. “Right. You ready to go?”  
   
“Yes.” Clarke said, then turned to her parents. “I’ll be home later.” She stepped to her mother and gave Abby a hug.  
   
“Since it’s not a school night, curfew’s at one.” The mother told her.  
   
“Got it.” Clarke said, going to hug Marcus next.  
   
“I won’t have her back too late.” Lexa told them both respectfully as she had always been taught growing up.  
   
“You guys just have fun, okay?” Abby told them.  
   
“Uh… not too much fun.” Marcus interjected, earning himself a smack on the arm from his wife and an eyeroll from his daughter. Lexa opened the front door and followed Clarke out to the car.  
   
“Goodnight.” She said to both Marcus and Abby closing the door behind her.  
   
Lexa took a few hurried steps past Clarke to get to the car before her, reaching around the blonde to open the passenger side door for her. “You look really great, by the way.”  
   
Clarke blushed at the compliment as well as the chivalrous gesture and smiled at the brunette. “Thank you. I was actually going to say the same about you.” She got in the car, letting Lexa close it after her and watched her walk around to the other side and get in the driver’s seat.  
   
The first few minutes on their drive to the lake was silent but surprisingly comfortable. After she got over the initial shock of being this close to the blonde and being enveloped with her beautiful scent, Lexa tried several times to think of conversation topics, but she was either drawing a blank, or thought that whatever she came up with was too nerdy or uninteresting. While she was busy deciding on something to say, Clarke took it upon herself to break the silence.  
   
“So, how does it feel?” She asked turning towards the driver’s side.  
   
“How does what feel?”  
   
“Being the game’s MVP.” Clarke said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Lexa shook her head at the notion. “Hey, c’mon, you single-handedly won that game.”  
   
“Okay, first of all… I don’t think they name an MVP of each game. Second of all, even if we did, I highly doubt they would’ve named me. It took me a whole half before I even touched the ball.”  
   
“That’s just because Bellamy was being a total ball-hog.” Clarke huffed remembering how arrogant he was being on the field. “It’s like he was going out of his way to keep you from getting any kind of attention.”  
   
Lexa let out a laugh. “I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed.”  
   
“Oh, you weren’t. When he knocked you down to get to the ball, the Sheriff had to hold your mom back from rushing the field.”  
   
“Yeah, that does not surprise me.” They both shared a laugh at the image of Becca Woods being pulled back by Sheriff Sinclair as she fought against him, ready to rush onto the field and literally kick the shit out of Bellamy Blake for body checking her daughter and sending her to the ground. That led to Lexa recounting to Clarke a few of the stories she had where Becca went all ‘protective mama bear’ on some young kid or their parents because they somehow wronged one of her daughters; safe to say, there were many of those stories.  
 

* * *

Before either of them knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of Northeast Shore of The Blue Cliff Lake Reserve. Already they could tell the party was in full swing. Most of the lot was filled with cars driven by other students and friends. Kids were running around the parking lot playing catch and goofing off as they made their way towards the beach.   
   
Lexa slowly maneuvered through them as she pulled her car into one of the front stalls that had a makeshift sign reading ‘Reserved for L. Woods #14’. All the stalls in that row had similar signs put up for the rest of her teammates. When she put the car in park and cut off the engine, she told Clarke to wait where she was while she hopped out of her seat and jogged around to the passenger side, opening the door for the blonde who blushed in response.   
   
Both girls made their way to the short pathway that led through the short hills to the beach. On their brief walk, they could hear the music playing, their classmates laughing and the roar of the fire. Clarke & Lexa made it to the other side of the hills and came face-to-face with the legendary ‘End of Summer Bonfire’. Neither of them had ever been to a party of this magnitude. Nearly every student from Arkadia High was there.   
   
It was clear that whoever organized this event knew exactly what they were doing. Not only is there one massive bonfire in the center of the party, but there are also four smaller fires burning a few other places up and down the shore. Speakers playing music wirelessly from someone’s laptop were placed around the main area. Right next to the entrance, there were several tables set up and piled with alcohol, sodas and party foods like chips and pretzels. And in true high school cliché fashion, there were several kegs of beer planted all around the party for anyone to drink from.  
   
Clarke and Lexa paused at the end of the pathway, looking around at the party and taking it all in. Lexa was starting to get nervous having not been to any real parties like this. That all went away when Clarke looked at her expectantly and glanced down. Lexa followed her eyesight and saw that Clarke had extended her hand to her, waiting for her to take it. Lexa slid her hand into Clarke’s and the blonde interlaced their fingers, giving it a slight squeeze for comfort.  
   
The feeling of Clarke’s hand in hers has every inch of Lexa’s skin buzzing with electricity in the best way possible. With a new wave of confidence, Lexa started leading them down toward the beach into the party. Walking through the party, Lexa was being congratulated and praised by everyone they passed. That in combination with the gorgeous blonde at her side had her on cloud nine.  
   
Clarke lead the two of them over to the main fire where Octavia was flagging them down. They joined the group that was standing halfway between the main fire and the makeshift bar forming a small circle that was lined by the usual suspects; Octavia, Gina, Bellamy, Miller, Brian, Atom and Roma.  
   
As the two girls approached, the guys (all except for Bellamy) started clapping for Lexa and thanking her for winning the game for them, going on and on about how great she was. They recounted all the awesome moves she made on the field. Bellamy got visibly annoyed, downed his drink and announced bitterly that he was going to go get another.  
   
Octavia watched her older brother walk away and rolled her eyes, similar to they way he had been doing since Lexa had shown up. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just jealous that for once it’s not all about him.” She told her to put her at ease.  
   
“She’s right.” Miller piped up about his best friend. “He’ll get over it.”  
   
The group spent another fifteen minutes standing there and talking, not just about the game, but about a lot of things like how their classes were going so far, which teachers they liked and things such as that. The conversations came to an end when Octavia heard a song play over the speakers that she loved and announced to everyone that they had to go dance to it.   
   
They all agreed and made their way to the makeshift dancefloor. Lexa felt her nerves coming back. Not once in all the stressing she had done about this night did it occur to her that there might be dancing involved. Lexa was not a very skilled dancer, not that she ever cared to be, and the way people danced these days, she was even less concerned with it. Now though, as she was being led over to the place where everyone was swaying and moving to the beat of the song, Lexa was trying to figure out how to possibly get out of this without offending Clarke in any way. But when the blonde looked back at her flashing her a bright smile, Lexa figured she could at least try for the girl’s sake.  
   
Clarke had found them a spot amidst the chaos of dancing teens and turned to face Lexa, stepping in closer with her eyes locked onto the green ones staring back at her in wonder. Wrapping her arms around Lexa’s neck, Clarke began shaking her hips side-to-side. Lexa was so mesmerized by what was happening, all her mind could process was watching the movements of her companion with her jaw slightly slacken. All Clarke could do was smile and give a tiny chuckle at the brunette’s action or lack thereof. She turned around and continued dancing in front of Lexa, stepping closer to back herself into her front moving her hips more slowly in spite of the quick beat of the playing song. Lexa’s hands, moving of their own volition, rested themselves on either side of Clarke’s hips feeling every movement from their point of origin. When her hands made contact, Clarke felt warm goosebumps beneath the brunette’s hands and course throughout the rest of her body. She brought her hand up and reached behind her to the back of Lexa’s neck, and turned her head, resting her forehead on Lexa’s cheek.   
   
They both continued to dance in that position, forgetting that they were surrounded by their peers; Lexa even began to move her body, matching Clarke’s rhythm. Their eyes once again locked onto one another’s and they held their gaze for what felt like hours. Both of them could feel the cosmic pull of themselves to the other. Without breaking eye contact, Clarke turned her body back to face Lexa and brought herself even closer so that her body was now flush with Lexa’s. Blue eyes danced between the green eyes looking back at her and the lips of the brunette.  
   
Lexa could feel the space between them growing significantly smaller. With every second that passed, their movements got slower and slower until, without realizing it, they were no longer dancing at all; both were just standing there, gazing at each other with pure and genuine affection. When their lips were merely and inch apart, Lexa decided to take a chance. She leaned in to finally press her lips into the blonde’s, but before she could, the two were knocked into by a drunk kid that Clarke was pretty sure she had AP Chemistry with. Apparently, he had taken enough shots of Vodka that he now believed he could dance the routine from the opening scene in ‘Stomp the Yard’, but all that lead to was him running into and pissing off a lot of people.   
   
“Sorry, sorry.” He slurred at the two of them before he slithered through the crowd in search of another drink.  
   
Watching him leave, Clarke and Lexa shared a look with one another and laughed at his failed dance moves. When that laughter died down, the look they shared became slightly awkward at the thought of what he had interrupted. Lexa cleared her throat and averted her gaze, looking anywhere but the blonde, trying to come up with something to say; Clarke managed to beat her to it, however.  
   
“C’mon.” She said reaching for Lexa’s hand, intertwining their fingers once again. “I think we’ve danced enough for one night.” She led the way for the two of them off of the ‘dancefloor’.  
   
“Yeah… sorry.” Lexa said sheepishly using her free hand to rub the back of her neck as she thought back to how bad she must have been dancing. “I’m actually a pretty horrible dancer.”  
   
“That’s perfectly fine.”  
   
“Is it?”  
   
“Yeah.” Clarke gave her a flirtatious smile. “You can’t be great at everything.”  
   
Clarke heard her name called by none other than Octavia. Their friend group had taken up some spots around the main fire and were calling the two of them over to join them. Clarke looked back at Lexa, silently asking her if it was okay.  
   
“I’ll meet you over there, I’m just gonna grab us some drinks.” Lexa told her. Clarke responded by telling her what she wanted and thanked her by leaning up on her tiptoes and placing a quick, gentle kiss on Lexa’s cheek before walking off to join Octavia. Lexa stared after her for a moment, but then snapped herself out of it and made her way over to the ‘bar’ to get their drinks.  
   
As Lexa got to the table and started making Clarke a rum and coke, a familiar face walked up to the other side and began making himself one.  
   
“Having fun?” Lincolns voice caught her attention causing her to look up.  
   
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lexa asked, perplexed as to why he was there.

 “Am I not allowed to have a good time?”  
   
Lexa rolled her eyes. “Did my sister send you to check up on me?”  
   
“Not exactly… I mean, yeah, I told her I was coming to check it out and she may have asked me to see how you were doing if I did come, but…” Lexa gave him a look. “What? Your sister scares the crap outta me!” Lincoln damn near yelled but still had a smile on his face. He and Lexa both laughed at that.  
   
Lincoln probably didn’t realize it, but he was actually pretty intimidating himself. Most people took one look at him and were instantly fearful that he would beat the shit out of them for whatever reason he wanted, so to hear him claim that he was scared of someone like Luna was laughable.  
   
“She just worries about you, y’know?” Lincoln began, his voice turning serious. “She didn’t want this for you, especially not the way it happened. But now that it did, she just wants to make sure nothing bad happens to you. That goes for all of us by the way. I know you just joined us but, you’re part of this family now. And we’re all happy to have you.”  
   
“Except Quint?” Lexa asked remembering every encounter she’s had with him so far not being the most friendly.  
   
Lincoln laughed. “Well, he’s just a dick.” The two of them laughed again and Lincoln downed his drink and set it down on the table. “Alright. I’m taking off. You wanna come by tomorrow and learn a few things?” He asked her.  
   
Lexa nodded before he could finish asking. “Hell yeah.”  
   
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” He held his hand out to her. When she took it, he pulled her in for a one-armed hug/handshake, giving her a pat on the back before pulling away. “Have a good night kid.” He called to her before turning and leaving.  
   
Lexa made her way over to the main fire to join Clarke and the others. As soon as she approached, Clarke patted the space on the log next to her and took the drink Lexa offered her before sitting down next to the blonde.  
   
“Hey, Lexa.” Octavia called to her from her place a few seats away on her own log that surrounded the fire, “Who was that you were talking to over by the bar?”  
   
“Uhh… Lincoln Whittle. He’s a Senior.” Lexa answered.  
   
“I didn’t know you were friends with him.” Octavia said with a hint of surprise at this new bit of news.  
   
“Oh, well… he was friends with my sister, so she asked him to look out for me. He and I talk from time to time. It’s no big deal.”  
   
Octavia leaned in a bit and lowered her voice. “So, is he like, seeing anyone or...?” She let the rest of the sentence hang there. Before Lexa could think of how to respond, Bellamy interjected.  
   
“No way in hell am I going to let my little sister date a guy older than me.”  
   
“You don’t own me Bellamy. I can date whoever the hell I want.” Octavia spoke back to him.  
   
Bellamy just looked at her. “My sister, my responsibility.” Octavia’s only response was to roll her eyes. He’s been saying that ever since the day she was born, and she was growing rather tired of it at this point in her life.  
   
The conversation moved on to other topics. Sitting on the logs surrounding the main fire, they talked and laughed about random things teenagers talk about. Lexa was surprised that they were actually including her in the conversation and she was shockingly comfortable.  
   
She and Clarke sat side by side, hands interlaced and resting in the blonde’s lap. They would alternate between holding separate conversations with others (Clarke w/ Octavia & Roma; Lexa w/ Miller, Atom & Brian) or all of them talking together. Whenever Lexa would say something to make Clarke laugh (which was often), Clarke would lean in and nudge Lexa’s shoulder with her forehead; or Clarke would listen to Lexa talk and look at her with utter fascination, biting her lower lip. Even though they were sitting by the fire, Lexa felt Clarke shiver slightly a few times, so she took off her jacket and gently placed it over her shoulders earning a very soft ‘thank you’.  
   
After a while, Clarke leaned in to whisper in Lexa’s ear. “Hey, do you maybe want to take a walk down by the water?” She asked quietly so only Lexa could hear.  
   
“Yeah, sure.” Lexa agreed. She stood up first and held both her hands out for Clarke to take and pulled her up to stand. Clarke told Octavia where the two of them were going which drew a look from Octavia that involved a suggestive smirk and raise of her eyebrows; to which Clarke could just roll her eyes.  
   
The girls walk hand in hand along the edge of the water, away from the party and talk more, wanting to get to know each other better.  
   
“So, how are you liking Arkadia so far? You adjusting to the move okay?”  
   
Clarke nodded. “I am actually. At first, I was a little irritated that we had to move again just as I was getting comfortable in Ton DC. But Arkadia is certainly growing on me, as are some of its residents.” At that, Clarke gave Lexa a gentle hand squeeze and a flirtatious smile. “Have you lived here your whole life?”  
   
“Well, I was born in TonDC and we lived there until I was about three, then we moved here. Arkadia is all I remember.”  
   
“Seems like a nice town to grow up in.” Clarke commented.  
   
“It is.” Lexa agreed. “There are a lot of great people here.”  
   
“Yeah, I’m seeing that.” Clarke just looked at Lexa with a dreamy smile. Lexa felt herself blush under the gaze and smiled bashfully.  
   
Lexa stopped walking and turned to Clarke. “I wanted to thank you again for coming to the game tonight. It really means a lot and… I’m really glad you were there. It was my first game and knowing you were in the stands… it made me feel better.” Lexa admitted to Clarke with genuine sincerity.  
   
Clarke looked up at her and couldn’t stop the dreamy smile that invaded her features; not that she wanted to anyway. “I’m glad I was there too. And I can’t wait to go to more of your games. I’m definitely going to be asking your mom to make me one of those shirts, too.” Clarke teased, but was actually being serious. “But wait… How was that your first game?”  
   
Lexa let out a light chuckle as they continued walking. “I rode the bench last year. I wasn’t that great of a player.”  
   
“I find that extremely hard to believe after what I saw tonight.”  
   
“Well after last season, I got sick of sitting on the bench, especially since everyone assumed I would be some all-star because of my last name.”  
   
“What does your last name have to do with anything?” Clarke asked with curiosity.  
   
“My older sister, Luna. When she was in high school, she was like some Lacrosse prodigy. From freshman year until she graduated, she was the school’s number one player. Started every game, lead the league in scoring and steals. She left a legacy, a legacy that I am now expected to continue. But at tryout last year, I was decent but nothing special. So, over the summer, I decided to change all that. I woke up everyday and trained. I worked out, I ran drills, I practiced my shooting. I even drove up to TonDC for a week to stay with Luna, so she could help me out.  
   
“Sounds like you were determined.” Clarke said.  
   
“I was. I wanted nights like tonight. Everybody cheering my name, Coach telling the team to get the ball to me. I know it sounds kinda conceited-”  
   
“-It doesn’t.” Clarke interjected, not wanting Lexa to feel like she was a selfish person.  
   
“I just wanted to make things so that when I look back on my days in high school, I can be proud of who I was.” Lexa admitted surprisingly. She had only ever admitted that to four people.  
   
Clarke smiled. She found that the more she got to know Lexa, she liked her that much more. “So then, how did you feel about the way things went tonight?”  
   
“Tonight…” Lexa looked down at her and Clarke’s interlocked hands. “Tonight, has been way better than anything I could have ever imagined.” Clarke looked over to the brunette and had a strong feeling that she wasn’t talking about the game.  
   
The two of them continued to walk and talk. They walked until the party going on behind them couldn’t be heard and the lights from the bonfire no longer reached them, the moon was all that was lighting their path. That’s when they decided to turn back. Before doing so, Clarke insisted that they pose for a selfie, wanting to remember this night when she looked back at it. Clarke clung onto Lexa’s jacket, not just for warmth but also because it smelled like the brunette. As they walked back, Clarke took a bold move and took the hand that was holding Lexa’s and guided it around her waist, dipping her shoulder underneath Lexa’s arm. When she let go of the brunette’s hand, she was glad that Lexa seemed to have caught on and held it there. This allowed Clarke to wrap both of her arms around the athlete’s stomach and back, leaning her head on her shoulder as they walked. Lexa felt the butterflies in her stomach erupt at this new position, smiling to herself as they got back to the party.  
   
Unsurprisingly enough, the first person that approached them when they made it back was Octavia, drink in hand and a huge smile on her face seeing the new development between them.  
   
“Well, don’t you two look cute all cuddled up with each other?” She asked playfully, her voice somewhat slurred. “Did you have a nice walk?” The question was more directed towards Clarke, but Lexa could hear the suggestiveness in her tone.  
   
They stayed at the party for another twenty minutes before Clarke checked her phone and realized that she had to leave if she didn’t want to miss her curfew. The last thing she wanted to do was get grounded and not be able to go out with Lexa again for several weeks. They both said their goodbyes and made their way to the parking lot.  
   
Once again, Lexa opened the car door for Clarke and helped her get in. As she walked around the car to get into the driver’s seat, she learned that she didn’t want the night to end. She was having a great time with the girl and the longer they spent time together, the more this felt like a date. All she had to do now was grow a pair and ask her.  
 

* * *

   
   
**Later that night**  
   
Another twenty-minute drive later and Lexa was pulling up to Clarke’s exquisite home for the second time that night. She got out and opened Clarke’s car door for her letting her out and had every intention of walking her to the door. This time, Lexa was the one to take hold of Clarke’s hand and interlace their fingers, drawing an impressed smile from the blonde.  
   
“That was really fun.” Clarke said. Lexa could hear the earnestness in the statement as well as slight sadness at the fact that it was over. “I had a great time.”  
   
“Yeah, I did too.” Lexa admitted. “I’ve never really gone to any school parties, but that was cool. I had fun.”  
   
They came to a stop as they made it to the entryway, standing a few feet away from the door facing one another. “Well, I also had a great time with… you.”  
   
“Yeah?” Lexa smiled as Clarke nodded shyly. “I had a really great time with you too.”  
   
They stood there for a moment, Lexa wanting so badly to ask if this was a date and was actually getting ready to, but the words got stuck in her throat. That’s when the porch light shut off and back on again, a signal for Clarke to wrap it up.  
   
Lexa took it as a sign and tried not to sound too defeated. “I should probably get home.”

 

Clarke nodded. “Yeah. I’ll uh… see you at school on Monday.” Lexa gave her a nod in return and started to walk back towards her car. Clarke was about to head inside but decides to stop and turn back. “Hey Lexa!” She calls out, causing Lexa to turn back. Clarke took a few steps towards her and just went for it. “Was uh… was this a… was this a date?”  
   
Lexa thought for a moment, then took a few steps forward herself, figuring out how to go about this. “That depends.”  
   
“On?”  
   
“Did you want it to be a date?” The two get closer to one another.  
   
Clarke pretended to think about it, all the while never breaking eye contact as they get even closer. “I was hoping it was.”  
   
Lexa took a few more steps. “And… if I… asked you to maybe go on a second date… what do you think you’d say to that?”  
   
They take a few last steps and soon, they are right in front of each other, standing less than a foot apart.  
   
“I would definitely say yes.” Clarke said softly, looking into Lexa’s eyes hopefully.  
   
Lexa took one final step and was now standing close enough to Clarke to touch her. “Good.” She said and suddenly reaches her hands up to cup the blonde’s face, bringing her in and gently placing her lips onto hers.   
   
The kiss only lasted a second before they pull away, but they don’t go far, just far enough to make eye contact, reading each other. Lexa pulled her hands back and awkwardly not wanting to overstep. They both have the same look of bliss, so their lips crash together in another kiss. This one is more firm. Clarke brought her hands up to cup Lexa’s face, pulling her body almost impossibly closer while Lexa grabs onto Clarke’s hips.  
   
They continue kissing for what feel like forever when they break away to take a breath, forehead’s resting on each other’s. The two share a slight chuckle. Clarke wanted so desperately to lean in again, but when the porch light flicks on and off more rapidly and with more vigor, the mood was somewhat ruined. Clarke threw her head back and laughed at whichever one of her parents that was, knowing deep down it was undoubtedly Marcus.  
   
“Alright! I get it! I’m coming!” She yelled through the door, her arms still wrapped around Lexa’s neck whose hands were still clutching her waist. They share another laugh at being kind of caught. “I should get inside. I’ll text you as much as I can this weekend, but my aunt will be here by the morning and I haven’t seen her in a few months.”  
   
Lexa shrugged. “No worries. I’d be happy with any text from you.” She said with a dopey grin.  
   
That’s when Clarke remembered something. “Oh, shit, your jacket.” Clarke moved the take it off, but Lexa stopped her.

 “Why don’t you hold onto that for a while.”  
   
“You trying to mark your territory, Woods?” Clarke asked slyly. While Lexa did chuckle at the joke, she found herself grow a bit nervous at the blonde’s choice of dog-like reference, but she quickly shook it off and chalked it up to coincidence.  
   
“Oh, definitely.” Lexa said sarcastically, playing along.  
   
“So, I’ll see you Monday then?” Clarke asked hopefully.  
   
“Yeah, you will.” Lexa boldly stole one last quick peck. “Goodnight, Clarke.”  
   
Clarke bit her lip, trying to contain the smile she wanted to give. “Goodnight, Lexa.”  
   
Clarke backed out of Lexa’s embrace, keeping their hands clasped together as their distance grew until they couldn’t hold on anymore. Lexa watched Clarke walk inside and fought the urge to give a fist pump and happy dance. Instead, she got in the car and droves home, remembering to stop and fill her mother’s car up with gas.

* * *

   
Clarke close the front door behind her and leaned against it, smiling to herself and staring off into space basking in the feeling of everything she had just experienced with Lexa. She was so lost in her own mind that it took her a moment to see Marcus leaned up against the wall to her left, arms crossed and waiting. Growing tired of waiting, he cleared his throat to get his daughter’s attention.  
   
“Geez, Marcus.” Clarke said, her hand finding the flesh just over her heart, willing it to start beating normally again. “What the hell are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?”  
   
“I see you had a good night.” He said with the subtlest hint of judgement in his tone.  
   
“Seriously, you were watching us?”  
   
“I was- I didn-… I looked outside to check on you and I saw you kiss, so I waited for a bit to give you two time and you were still… going, so I flipped the lights again.” Clarke had to admit, she enjoyed moments like this, turning the tables on Marcus and making him get flustered and tongue-tied. She had to hold back a laugh and struggle to keep a straight face.  
   
“Well thanks for that, you kinda killed the mood.” Clarke said as she stepped out of her shoes placing them on the shoe-rack next to the door. “Why were you even waiting up and spying on us anyway? I thought you liked Lexa. You said so yourself.”  
   
“I do, but you can never be too careful.” Marcus defended himself. “I thought I liked Finn when I first met him. Turns out he was just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” He held his hands up in surrender, hoping Clarke wouldn’t be mad at him and hear him out. “Look… no matter who you go out with, no matter how sweet or incredible they may seem, there’s always going to be a part of me that will be cautious about them. I’ll always be waiting for that other shoe to drop because if it does, that might mean you get left with a broken heart. You’re my daughter, that is the last thing that I want. Lexa seems like a very  
smart, very sweet young woman and I’m glad you found someone you like so soon after the Finn fiasco, but if she turns out not to be how she seems to be… I will be here for you. I will always be here for you. Alright?”  
   
Marcus wasn’t one to give many heart-to-hearts, but when he talked to Clarke this way, she always knew he was genuine. He may not be her biological father, but that never stopped him from loving her like she was.  
   
“I appreciate that.” Clarke said her tone matching the grateful look she was giving him.   
   
“I love you, kiddo.” Marcus told her bringing her in for a hug.  
   
“I love you too, dad.”  
   
“Why don’t you go on up to bed.” He said as he pulled away.  
   
“Won’t V be here soon?” Clarke asked, remembering her aunt was heading into town right about now. She looked at the time on her phone and saw that it was just a few minutes after 1 AM.  
   
Marcus waved her off. She only hit the road earlier tonight. She’s not due in for another few hours. But she’ll be here by the time you wake up. We’ll all have breakfast.”  
   
“Okay.” Clarke agreed, heading up the stairs, the events of the day catching up to her as a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit her. “Goodnight, dad.”  
   
“Goodnight.” Marcus called watching after her. He went around the rest of the first level of the house, locking doors, double-checking windows and shutting off the lights before he too went up to join his wife in bed.  
   
Clarke changed out of her clothes and put on her pajama pants and tank top. Normally after a night like tonight she would shower away the day, but she didn’t want to get rid of the smell Lexa left behind just yet. When she took off the brunette’s jacket, she took one last whiff before hanging it over the back of her desk chair that sat right next to her bed. She drifted off to sleep staring at that jacket and recalling every second she spent with the green-eyed beauty tonight.  
 

* * *

  
   
As Lexa walked through her front door, cheesy grin still in place, she heard her phone chime and fished it out of her back pocket, seeing a notification of having been tagged in a post on Instagram. Clarke had posted a few photos, tagging her in it and captioning how great of a night it was. Of the four photos posted; The first was a group shot of most of them in front of the fire, all of them with drinks in their hands, the next was a photo that had to have been taken by Octavia. It was of Clarke & Lexa sitting on their log by the fire, hands interlocked in the blonde’s lap, immersed in conversation and lost in each other’s gaze. The third was of Clarke, Octavia, Gina and Roma all making silly faces at the camera with the fire burning behind them casting a nice glow in the picture. The fourth and last photo in the post was by far the best. It was the selfie Clarke had taken of the two of them on their walk along the water’s edge, heads leaned in to one another’s. The caption read: _‘Great Night with even Greater Company. I think I’m liking Arkadia… and a certain someone in it. #bonfireparty #gowarriors’_

 

Lexa’s smile grew even wider, if that was even possible. She also noticed that she was tagged in several other people’s posts, most of the same few pics and a few other candid’s she didn’t even know were being taken. But her favorite, by far, was Clarke’s. She scrolled down and found a few people had already begun to comment.  
   
_**BabygurlBlake** : Such a cute couple!!! _

_**KillerMiller24** : What a great night!! _

_**AtomBomb82** : Eyes locked on that next W! Great game Lexa!!!_  
   
Feeling like she was floating on a cloud with no plans on coming down anytime soon, Lexa made her way upstairs to find her sister and tell her everything that happened tonight. She was too excited to wait for morning. When she got to her sister’s room, however, she noticed it was empty and the bed was still made. Turns out she had no choice but to wait until morning, so she headed into her room to get ready for bed. Lexa opted to forgo a shower, wanting to fall asleep enveloped with the sweet scent Clarke left behind on her skin.  
   
Lexa felt like she had only been asleep for a few moments, but in reality, it was about three hours before she was suddenly awoken by the sound of a single gunshot. She lifted her head up off the pillow and glanced toward the window, but things were quiet causing Lexa to believe it wasn’t anything to get worked up about, so she laid back down and tried to get back to sleep. A few seconds later, her ears heard the sound of a wolf howling, a call of distress followed immediately by two more gunshots.  
   
Lexa leapt out of bed, throwing her covers off her in one fluid motion and landing softly on her feet. Quickly, she dressed herself with the clothes littered on her floor, thrown haphazardly at the end of the night. She tossed on a pair of shoes, not caring if they matched along with a jacket and made her way to the window by her bed. Opening it as quietly as possible she climbed out of it onto her roof. Sliding down the slanted edge of the roof, she landed on the ground below on all fours, eyes glowing a bright yellow. Lexa waited a moment, listening out for her mother, making sure she was still fast asleep and hadn’t been woken up by and noise Lexa may have made; she heard nothing. With a soft growl that escaped her throat, Lexa took off running in a direction her instincts led her, towards the sound of the struggle, praying like hell that her sister was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those of you still reading, commenting and leaving kudos. I appreciate it!!

**Author's Note:**

> Not entirely sure what direction I'm taking this yet but I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think.


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